Freeport is the one intermediate stop on the Downeaster Extension to Brunswick that opened on November 1, 2012. It is the terminus and the location of a fifteen minute layover (trains discharged passengers and continued beyond the station platform a bit to reverse) for the ill-fated Downeaster Shuttle, trains #677 and #678 that made an extra Burnswick to Freeport Shuttle Trip (for a fare of $3) between 3:00pm and 3:45pm on Weekends only from April 29, 2013 until October 13, 2013. The intended use was to allow day trippers to experience both Brunswick and Freeport on the same day using the trainset that layovers between runs in Brunswick anyway. The ridership never materialized (your webmaster road and was the only passenger in one direction) and the train was discontinued. The 9 mile trip is probably the shortest train in terms of length ever operated by Amtrak.
The station has the standard mostly low-level exposed platform with a small mini high-level platform where all trains normally open their single door for passengers to board and discharge, along a single track. This mini-high that is about a foot away from the edge of the door to an Amfleet Car requiring a bridge plate to be positioned for all passengers getting on and off trains. The mini-high platform and the staircase and ramp up to it are covered entirely by a white structure with a green gabled roof that looks shingled and flat ceiling that houses the lighting under the canopy. On this canopy are small Freeport signs at each end plus a single blue Freeport sign that includes a strip map of the entire Downeaster Route under it. A Downeaster Logo has been nicely built into the roof and faces the parking lot. A few benches are on the mini-high platform for waiting passengers as well as a Downeaster information panel. Grey fencing is along the mini-high platform and the lengths of the low-level portions of the platform that extend, exposed to the elements with black lampposts at each end of the mini-high platform. All entry to platform is in the middle by the mini-high platform. The edges of the platform have a tactile warning strip that is currently a rusty looking brown color not yellow.
The entire station is along a parking lot with the shops that Freeport is known for (the flagship stores of L.L. Bean and other outlets) just steps away from the station. Inside this parking lot is a small two-story grey building with an odd-looking tower that looks almost like a light house. A sign outside says Freeport Hose Tower 1899. Inside are two sets of doors One says Freeport Information Center above it, the other says Freeport Train center. Both lead into a small Chamber of Commerce Center with a just a couple of chairs for waiting passengers, its much more tourist information than a waiting room. A single QuikTrak Machine is in one corner for Downeaster Ticketing.
All photos taken on 10 August, 2013
Portland, ME 