LEWISTON — Talks on a long-sought Boston-to-Montreal passenger rail service will be revived after new legislation directs two commissions to study the feasibility of restoring the connection.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, directs advisory commissions with jurisdiction over Maine’s relationship with Canada and New England to study the feasibility of restoring passenger rail from Boston to Montreal.

The connection has been discussed for years in both New England and Canada, but faces tremendous obstacles — namely securing the appropriate rail access and millions of dollars in funding for upgrades.

Rotundo said Monday that despite the odds, reviving passenger rail continues to be an important issue for many people in the Lewiston-Auburn area, especially as other Maine communities like Portland and Brunswick enjoy passenger rail access.

“Lewiston and Auburn have been waiting for their turn for passenger rail to come to us,” she said. “This looked like another way to try to focus attention on the possibility of restoring passenger rail.”

The law directs the Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission and the New England and Eastern Canada Legislative Commission to examine the issue and provide a report by Dec. 3.

Rotundo said the groups will now work with neighboring commissions to “conduct high-level policy discussions that will be used as the basis for future evaluations.” She called it a way “to get the conversation going” without a cost to taxpayers.

Jonathan LaBonte, transportation systems director in Auburn, was recently appointed to the Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission. He said Monday that the commission is slated to meet July 12 and will begin discussing the requirements of the law.

“I think it’s the best next first step,” he said. “You get policymakers in a room and understanding whether or not the policy environment supports it and what steps could be taken to incrementally advance the idea.”

He applauded Rotundo for getting the legislation across the finish line, adding, “This isn’t looking to fund a six-figure study; it’s asking the commission to convene and discuss and report back.”

The Montreal-to-Boston rail service revival most recently made headlines in 2022 when the Night Trains Foundation, Canadian rail advocates, began a push to connect Quebec rail lines with ones through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to Boston.

At the time, the proposal envisioned a 14-hour, overnight trip with meal and sleeper cars. It came at a time of great interest in rail revival; Congress had approved more than $100 billion for railway infrastructure projects across the nation.

While there are no recent cost estimates to complete the connection, the Night Trains Foundation estimated the first leg of its rail upgrades in Canada to be $100 million in 2022.

This year in Maine, the bulk of discussions over passenger rail came in the form of a debate over a section of line that some rail advocates believe would be crucial to an eventual Boston-to-Montreal route. Separate legislation was approved allowing the creation of a multi-use trail on the St. Lawrence & Atlantic line between Portland and Auburn.

Rail advocates had opposed the trail project because it will remove the tracks and eliminate the future potential for the section to be used for passenger rail.

Tony Donovan, director of the Maine Rail Transit Coalition, said Monday that while he supports Rotundo’s efforts to support passenger rail discussions, he doesn’t “have much faith” in the state’s process following its support of removing the St. Lawrence & Atlantic lines between Portland and Auburn for the trail.

Donovan believes Maine needs to support a full evaluation of all rail lines in the state, and said Danville Junction in Auburn and Yarmouth Junction in Yarmouth are likely the most important pieces of the puzzle if a connection is ever to be made.

When asked if a connection could be made without that stretch of line between Auburn and Portland, LaBonte said hypothetically, the CSX line, which operates the Downeaster, could be used from Portland to Auburn, and then in Auburn there could be a handoff to the St. Lawrence & Atlantic.

In her testimony on the bill, Rotundo said one route could utilize the St. Lawrence & Atlantic railroad that runs from Auburn to Quebec Province, where it would then link with the Canadian National railroad, terminating in Montreal.

“This route would be ideal for overnight sleeper trains, where the journey is part of the vacation experience, and would bolster the tourism industry in the state,” she said.

She said that because the planning would require multiple parties from across New England and Canada to be involved, “I believe the Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission would be best suited to conduct this study.”

These discussions, Rotundo said, should not be seen as “a propensity study, as has been done in previous years to determine the number of passengers that would utilize this service,” but rather the starting point for future policy discussions, she said.

Rotundo also said that given the current tension in U.S.-Canada relations, the discussions are a way to “maintain and strengthen ties between Maine and our Canadian neighbors.”

A nearly identical bill was passed last session, but appointments to the Maine-Canadian commission were made too late, and by the time the commission was able to meet, the reporting window had already closed.