This is the determination of the Railroad Retirement Board concerning the status of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority as an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231 et seq.) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. § 351 et seq.).

The Authority was established in 1995¹ as a state agency by the Maine Legislature for the general purpose of promoting passenger rail service. The Authority was directed to give priority to the restoration of rail service between Portland and Boston and on December 2, 1996, entered into an agreement with Amtrak for the provision by Amtrak of passenger service between Portland and Boston. Amtrak’s Portland-Boston service, known as “The Downeaster,” began on December 15, 2001. The Authority has five employees. The first date on which an Authority employee was compensated was July 17, 1999.

The Authority does not operate the rail line in question itself and does not have Surface Transportation Board authority to do so. The rail lines involved are owned by Portland Terminal Company, by Boston and Maine Corporation (both covered employers under the Acts; B.A. Nos. 4105, 1102, respectively), and by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (not a covered employer), and are not owned by the Authority.

The Authority derives no revenue from Amtrak’s operation of the Downeaster and reimburses Amtrak the difference between the revenue Amtrak receives from passengers and Amtrak’s cost of operation of the Downeaster.

Section 1(a)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231(a)(1)), insofar as relevant here, defines a covered employer as:

(i) any carrier by railroad subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board under Part A of subtitle IV of title 49, United States Code;

(ii) any company which is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, or under common control with, one or more employers as defined in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, and which operates any equipment or facility or performs any service (except trucking service, casual service, and the casual operation of equipment or facilities) in connection with the transportation of passengers or property by railroad * * *.

The Authority is not a carrier by railroad subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board. Further, it is not owned or controlled by, or under common control with, a railroad employer. Nor does it fall under any other definition of an employer under the Acts administered by the Board.

Accordingly, it is determined that the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority is not an employer within the meaning of section 1(a)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231(a)(1)) and the corresponding provision of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.