PORTLAND (AP) – New Hampshire’s agreement to spend $1.6 million in federal money on a new side track has paved the way for Amtrak’s Downeaster to add a fifth round-trip run between Portland and Boston to its daily schedule.

The new schedule, which the line hopes to have place within a year, is expected to boost Downeaster revenues by 30 percent, said Patricia Douglas, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.

Maine, which plans to contribute $400,000 for the new side track near Dover, N.H., had tried for more than a year to persuade officials in that state to fund the project. But the project was delayed by opposition from C&J Trailways, a New Hampshire-based bus company that said the rail authority failed to integrate bus and train service to reduce competition.

A New Hampshire transportation committee approved the funding Wednesday following an agreement that calls for the bus company and the rail authority to work as partners to promote public transportation.

As part of the plan, passengers will be permitted to use the same ticket to ride the bus or train. Meanwhile, the bus company has changed its schedule to fill gaps between train trips.

“Working together, we have a better chance of attracting riders than if we act competitively,” Douglas said.

The side track will enable freight and passenger trains to move off the main line and allow other trains to pass. Without it, the line is too congested to accommodate the additional trip.

Carol Murray, New Hampshire’s transportation commissioner, praised Douglas for overcoming obstacles to break the impasse. “She didn’t fold her arms and say We can’t do that,”‘ Murray said.

Douglas said the fifth trip would help fill long gaps in the schedule that make the train inconvenient for some people.

Downeaster ridership has surged in recent months, partly in response to higher gas prices, and the increase is spread across all trains every day of the week.

“The Downeaster has been accepted as a form of transportation rather than a tourist attraction,” Douglas said.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-11-18-05 0919EST