The Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) has selected Unity-based Maine Switching Services to operate the freight railroad line from Brunswick to Rockland. Currently, the company repairs rail cars and provides switching services to paper mills in Rumford and Skowhegan. Maine Switching Services will resume freight service on the Rockland Branch Railroad and plans to offer scenic train excursions by fall.
However, the company has not proposed operating passenger rail service along the line, so the plan to extend Amtrak Downeaster service from Brunswick to Rockland remains on hold.
The previous operator, Midcoast Railservice, ceased operations in August 2024 after Dragon Cement in Thomaston, its largest customer accounting for more than 90 per cent of freight, stopped production.