PORTLAND (AP) – The rail authority that operates Amtrak’s Downeaster was seeking permission Thursday to tap into nearly $3 million in federal subsidies to make up for declining ridership and to make repairs to the track.

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority conceded that ridership expectations on the Portland-to-Boston route had been overly optimistic.

Officials had believed ridership would continue to grow after exceeding projections in the first year. Instead, ridership has declined and estimates have been adjusted to reflect actual performance.

“We thought we were going to continue to go gangbusters,” said Patricia Douglas, manager of marketing and development for the rail authority. “We’ve leveled off.”

The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee, or PACTS, was expected to grant permission to move the federal money from a fund set aside to expand the rail service from Portland to Brunswick.

The rail authority hopes to tap the federal subsidies for $1.7 million for operations and another $1.2 million for track upgrades.

Ron Roy, the state Department of Transportation director of passenger transportation, didn’t foresee any problems in tapping into the money set aside for expansion.

He said the first priority was to stabilize the Portland-to-Boston service. If that fails, he explained, then any discussion of an expansion of the rail service to Brunswick would be moot.

The rail authority, he said, also hopes to reduce the trip time from two hours 45 minutes to two-and-a-half hours. Douglas said the authority also wants to add a fifth daily round trip.