The company started operations in 1990 after a contract was awarded to the Massachusetts Central Railroad (MCER) to operate the Rockland Branch between Brunswick and Rockland, Maine.
[1] The MCER chose to create a new railroad to operate the line, named the Maine Coast.
[1] During its first year, the railroad handled little traffic, but in 1991 a large cement producer on the line began shipping its product via rail.
[1] As a result of this increase in traffic, the Maine Coast acquired additional locomotives.
[1] In 1994, using funding from the Maine Department of Transportation, trackage in Rockland was rebuilt to allow freight to be transferred from the railroad to barges.