BRUNSWICK — The New England Passenger Rail Authority is considering alternative sites for a proposed Downeaster train layover and maintenance facility that has upset homeowners in neighborhoods off Route 1.

Alternative sites will be discussed at a public forum at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Town Council chambers at Maine Street Station, 16 Station Ave.

“We will be evaluating other sites that have been suggested and considering environmental impacts such as noise, vibration, air and water quality,” said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the authority.

The meeting will be hosted by representatives of the authority and the Maine Department of Transportation.

Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, organized the meeting to address noise concerns and other issues raised by constituents who live near the proposed 40,000-square-foot train facility.

The proposed site runs along the north side of the tracks, from Church Road to Stanwood Street, Quinn said. The state plans to buy the land from Pan Am Railways, Gerzofsky said.

Other suggested sites include one near an industrial park where the town dumps snow and another at Cook’s Corner, near Walmart and Lowe’s stores, Gerzofsky said.

Started in 2001, the Downeaster stops in Old Orchard Beach (seasonally), Saco and Wells; Dover, Durham and Exeter, N.H.; and Haverhill, Woburn and Boston, Mass.

The Downeaster carried 474,058 passengers in 2010. The rail authority is working to extend service to Freeport and Brunswick by late 2012.