PORTLAND

Fifteen years after passenger train service resumed between Boston and Portland, Amtrak’s Downeaster has been a runaway success, with increased speed, ridership and service.

Thursday was the anniversary of the resumption of service between Massachusetts and Maine. It took a decade of lobbying and more than $50 million for track upgrades for the first trains to run since the 1960s on a cold rainy morning 15 years ago. In the years since, more than 6 million passengers have avoided busy Interstate 95 by riding the rails.

Wayne Davis, a banker and rail advocate who pressed for the service, said he doubts that the service could’ve been created in the current political climate.

“We’re proud of it, but it couldn’t be done today. It’s a case of being in the right place at the right time,” said Davis, founder of TrainRiders Northeast.

Davis hatched the idea for restoring passenger rail service between Portland and Boston and sold then-Transportation Commissioner Dana Connors on the idea in the late 1980s. Train- Riders Northeast proceeded to collect more than 90,000 petitions demanding the rail service.

Then-Sens. Olympia Snowe and George Mitchell secured tens of millions of dollars to upgrade the tracks that carried slow, heavy freight trains for high-speed passenger trains.

Michael Dukakis, Amtrak’s acting chairman at the time, was among dignitaries who rode on the train’s inaugural run. Regular service started on Dec. 15, 2001.

Lionel and Marilyn Caron, of Lisbon, rode the train on the inaugural run so they could visit Boston’s Quincy Market. And they’ve ridden it several times since.

“I was hoping they’d make it,” said Caron, who said he and his wife prefer to ride the train so they don’t have to fight for a parking space in Boston.

But success was not guaranteed. Even Davis, the biggest proponent, was unsure whether the train could compete with passenger cars and buses. But the service stayed, and grew.

Over the years, the train has been popular with travelers, commuters and young adults who’re less infatuated with cars, said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.

“From a transportation standpoint, the Downeaster has evolved from an amenity or attraction into a viable means of transportation,” she said.

The service started at 60 mph for a top speed. The speed eventually increased to 79 mph and more trains were added. Service eventually expanded north to Freeport and Brunswick in 2012. Just last month, a facility opened in Brunswick to allow trains to stay overnight, increasing efficiency.

Construction of the facility was delayed because of wrangling over a state issued storm water permit, brought on by Brunswick neighbors who worried about decreased property values, and the possibility of vibration, noise and pollution.

The state issued the permit following an appeal to the Maine Board of Environmental Protection.

The rail authority itself came under critical review by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability in 2015. Former Brunswick state Sen. Stan Gerzofsky had called for the review. The state agency reviewed the environmental impact and finances of the Downeaster.

Following a preliminary review, OPEGA did not find a high risk for mismanagement or lack of transparency at the rail authority, but did recommend that the authority improve its communications with the public.

On Thursday, the former senator struck a more conciliatory tone.

“The delegation was always very supportive,” Gerzofsky said of the Downeaster. “I think we’re excited that it’s made its 15th year and has a bright future.”

These days, there are stops in Boston, Woburn and Haverhill in Massachusetts; Exeter, Durham and Dover in New Hampshire; and Wells, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Portland, Freeport and Brunswick in Maine.

The service is coming off an 18-month stretch of maintenance that caused delays and cancellations, but most of that work is now complete and the tracks are in good shape, Quinn said. She said she thinks that ridership will soon top 500,000 riders a year.

Times Record staff writer Lisa D. Connell contributed to this report.

ABOUT THE DOWNEASTER

• 1989: TrainRiders/Northeast forms grassroots group to work for passenger rail restoration between Maine and Boston.

• 1991: TrainRiders/Northeast via political action committee Railvision presents Maine legislature with petition signed by 90,000 Maine voters asking to restore rail service. First citizen initiated bill ever adopted without requiring a referendum.

• 1995: Maine Department of Transportation and TrainRiders/ Northeast works with state legislature to establish Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority. Purpose: reinstate and manage passenger rail service.

• 1998: Rehabilitation of rail line begins.

• DEC. 15, 2001: Amtrak Downeaster service begins, from Portland to Boston.

• NOVEMBER 2012: Passenger service between Portland and Brunswick begins.

• DEC. 15, 2016: Amtrak Downeaster marks 15th anniversary.

• RIDERSHIP: up 62 percent since 2006; more than 6 million passengers.

• TICKET REVENUE: $89 million.

• ROUTES: 5 daily round-trips between Portland and Boston; 3 daily round-trips between Portland and Brunswick; in all, 12 communities in three states served.

• TRACKS: Trains travel up to 79 mph over this 139-mile corridor; 78 miles of track owned by Pan Am Railways, 36 miles owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, 23 miles owned by state of Maine.

Source: TrainRiders/Northeast