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Last week, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) cleared all legal hurdles for the state of Maine to assume ownership of a 233-mile portion of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd.’s (MMA) lines in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. Now, the state will proceed with plans to upgrade and rehabilitate the track, and hire a railroad to operate the lines.

The state’s actions will preserve rail service for nearly two dozen employers in the northern Maine counties, helping prevent the loss of about 2,000 jobs that are dependent on rail service, said Collins, a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation member, in a prepared statement.

Last month, the Surface Transportation Board approved MMA’s request to abandon the routes — including a line between Millinocket and Madawaska, and several branch lines — leaving the FRA’s legal maneuvers as the remaining obstacles to the state’s plan to purchase and upgrade the track.

The Maine Department of Transportation currently is accepting proposals from short lines interested in operating the routes. Proposals are due Wednesday.