Re:Tram Trains
by nocoiner on Wednesday July 23, 2025 @04:30PM
(#44663681)
I really like your point #2. A little bit of me dies every time I see a rail-to-trail project. Granted, many (most? all?) of those lines have approximately a 0% chance of ever being economic again, but there’s also rail-centered redevelopment that’s being permanently foreclosed.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Over the longer haul, 99% of the potential infrastructure value of the "destroyed" rail line is in the unified right of way ownership. Rails rust (or are sold for scrap, legally or not), ties rot, ballast (gravel) becomes choked with dirt, brush, and trees, and bridges and viaducts crumble. So long as the rail-to-trail project doesn't erect a too-high legal barrier to eventual higher-value uses, it's actually a best case scenario.