Quote:
Originally Posted by fatlazyless
Here's a Dec 2 letter to the editor published in The LaDa Sun.
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'Concord and Laconia keep railroad on life support'
To The Daily Sun
Laconia Mayor-elect Andrew Hosmer and the rest of the city council's recent delay on the proposed rail-trail is impacting not just Laconia but the entire state.
The New Hampshire railroad industry is dead; it's been dead for a long time. The state owned railroad line from Concord to Lincoln is an example of what is wrong with Concord and the way the state rules.
From what I've seen, the Bureau of Rail, Transit and Aeronautics is controlled by nostalgic railroad fans that want to return New Hampshire to the glory days or railroading - think steam engines, Pullman cars and the grand hotels.
This isn't going to happen in Laconia or anywhere in the Granite State.
Also, because of Concord, New Hampshire no longer has a manufactoring or commodity base to support any railroad, and even if it did, it wouldn't be competitive against interstate 93 and, once the 5G network is finished, driverless trucks.
The New Hampshire railroad industry is dead; it's been dead for a long time. The politicians in Laconia and Concord want to keep it on life support.
Steven J Connolly
Bethlehem
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Here in New Hampshire, we don't really have a railroad, what we have is more like a failroad. .... my comment-fll.
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Ask Mr. Connolly how well the Downeaster is doing. I remember him saying the Downeaster would be a failure and a waste of money. Well, now you would be hard pressed to find a seat on some of those trains. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Connolly is part of the problem in this state, quick to shoot everything down and lacks the ability to offer up any type of alternative solutions, he just wants to keep the status quo. So, let me ask how is the status quo doing for NH? Mr. Swirk the owner of the Conway Scenic Railroad, presented a very good example to the city council last week that pointed out how investing in the infrastructure that's in place is the real economic engine, not tearing it out. Chicopee, MA is reaping the benefits from that investment, it created jobs and revenue for that community. The Downeaster has spurred growth along its tracks as was pointed out in last week’s meeting with the city council. Take a look at the Grafton and Upton Railroad, down in Grafton, MA that railroad had been all but abandoned for 20+ years, couldn't even see the tracks they were over grown so much, now freight trains run up and down the line just about every day. Again, it's created jobs, spurred economic growth in those communities. If Laconia really wants to create economic growth, creating real jobs is the way to go, not building trails.