CN9634 wrote:Global shipping has been going on from Searsport for years, its just that the Class I rail connection now opens up greater opportunities from a broader inland network. Likewise for Portland minus the Class I connect.
So this brings up an interesting point ... I thought the thesis here was that neither Searsport or Portland could ever be large enough to justify interest from a Class I. Even with Eimskip or bulk shipping there just wasn't ever going to be sufficient capacity for anything.
That apparently is no longer true at all which remains a pretty stunning turn of events. I'm not quite past the "shock factor" of seeing Class I railroads move in on this territory when the wisdom in these parts has always been "they're too small to matter".
There are hints of "well because the Panama Canal is wider now these ports are viable" and also "the Class Is are going after East Coast business" but none of this reasoning seems to provide a compelling answer to "Why Maine?".
Is this a draft issue? Does Maine have better and deeper berths than other New England ports? Are there unsolvable capacity problems elsewhere? Not enough land for development?
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