OXFORD — The Board of Selectmen is throwing its support behind a “Hotel Train” proposal being put together by a Montreal entrepreneur.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, selectmen pledged their support in a letter to Francois Rebello, the man responsible for the proposal, which would run a passenger rail between Montreal and Boston through Western Maine and New Hampshire.

Earlier this year, Oxford, as well as many other communities along the St. Lawrence and Atlantic railroad, signed on to the Oxford and Coos Counties Corridor Coalition, organized to press for more passenger rail through the region.

Rebello, a Montreal businessman, envisions a luxury overnight service that would collect travelers in the evening in Montreal and arrive in Boston the next morning.

Rebello sketched out a preliminary vision for the overnight service during a Coalition meeting in September.

According to a Nov. 5 memo to selectmen from the Maine Rail Transit Coalition, the train would include leased locomotives, two dining cars, one lounge car, and between five and nine sleeper cars, with separate, hotel-style chambers. 

A seasonal opening is planned for the service, with 45 round trips between June and September, according to the MRTC. Round-trip tickets are expected to cost about $400. 

The plan is to connect with Amtrak rail service between Portland and Brunswick, a proposal that has a number of issues, the MRTC notes, “but some are political and letters of support will help to overcome some of these obstacles.”

One stop along the route is planned in Bethel, but at Thursday’s meeting Oxford Town Manager Michael Chammings said Oxford might be considered for a stop, due to its services and entertainment, such as Oxford Plains Speedway and Oxford Casino. 

pmcguire@sunjournal.com