Saco Transportation Center, also referred to as Saco or Saco–Biddeford in some timetables, is a passenger transportation station in

Saco, Maine Saco is a city in York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,381 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General ...

served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national railroad passenger system, and other transportation providers. On average, about 110 passengers daily board or detrain Amtrak's '' Downeaster'' service at the station, making it the third-busiest stop in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. The station is located next to the

Pan Am Railways Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Clas ...

mainline, formerly the Western Route mainline of the

Boston & Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

. The train platform was constructed in 2001, and the station building was constructed in 2008 and opened in 2009. The station, at 138 Main Street, is owned by the city of Saco. The station is notable for being the first

green design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

train station in the U.S.; when it was built, it featured a wind turbine for electricity, geothermal heating and cooling systems, and a roof made from recycled soda bottles. However, the wind turbine, which cost the city of Saco about $200,000, did not produce the expected amount of electricity, and was shut down in 2006 after safety concerns. It was removed in November 2018.

References

Gallery

File:Saco Station Wind Mill.JPG, The

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

at the Station used to offset power use. File:Saco Amtrak Station 5.27.09.JPG, The new station from the parking lots

External links

Saco – ''Amtrak Downeaster''
Amtrak stations in Maine Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines Transportation buildings and structures in York County, Maine Buildings and structures in Saco, Maine Buildings and structures in Biddeford, Maine {{Maine-railstation-stub