Quote:
Originally Posted by jbolty
The argument in favor of keeping the rails seems to boil down to "it's always been there and thus it shall ever be"
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That's not true at all, the state has converted many railroad lines to trails, one was just recently (or is in the process of being), converted to a trail from Littleton to Whitefield. The difference between that line and this line is very clear though. The line in Littleton had no online shippers, the operator leasing the line gave up its common carrier rights (approved by the STB) and with no operators and shippers showing interest, the state petitioned and was approved by the STB to abandon the line. With two operators leasing the line along Winnipesaukee, there's not much the state can do, even if they wanted to close the line.