Posted on 10/11/2010 4:15:24 AM PDT by Willie Green
A group of passenger train enthusiasts, mostly from Massachusetts and Vermont, have been meeting for about a year, studying the possibility of a 110-mile rail service that would start in New London and travel through Uncasville, Norwich, Willimantic, Mansfield, Storrs and Stafford Springs in Connecticut and on to Palmer, Mass., Amherst and Brattleboro, Vt.
The Palmer Railroad Coalition will hold an informational meeting on the idea for a Central Corridor Rail Line from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, at Union Station.
The so-called Central Corridor Rail Line would run on tracks that currently carry freight between New London and Canada. The Palmer Railroad Coalition's goal is to upgrade the tracks to accommodate passenger trains and increase freight capacity to expand manufacturing and shipping.
The proposed line also would run past 13 colleges and universities, including the University of Connecticut, which has about 25,000 students, and the University of Massachusetts, which has about 27,000 students. New London and Willimantic also have a college population of more than 11,000, according to the coalition.
"It's (an idea that's) been kicking around for a couple of years, mostly in Palmer and Vermont, and has worked its way down the line,'' said City Manager Martin Berliner, who along with New London's City Center District is hosting the meeting.
"It's something we would want to support if it's feasible,'' Berliner said. "It might be a real opportunity for our port."
The coalition has met with Massachusetts transportation officials, state legislators, regional planning associations, business and community leaders, and town officials from adjacent towns along the rail line.
The proposed rail line has nothing to do with the proposed Amtrak high-speed line between New Haven and Springfield.
Those interested in attending the meeting should contact CentralCorridorNewLondon@gmail.com.
The proposed line also would run past 13 colleges and universities, including the University of Connecticut, which has about 25,000 students, and the University of Massachusetts, which has about 27,000 students.
Hmmmmmmm..... proximity of colleges and universitiies is always good for passenger rail service, not only for students, but also for faculty and staff exchanges/collaboration between the various institutions.
And how much will it cost, Willie?
bump
LLS
“A group of passenger train enthusiasts, mostly from Massachusetts and Vermont...”
Right. A group known for their intelligence, as shown by their voting record.
This project would be paid for by everybody else in the country, and, of course, used by no one.
But it would be a train, which, I guess, is good enough.
If those “train enthusiasts” want to pay for it out of their own pocket, I say go for it. And if not, I suggest they stick with their Lionel train set in the basement.
They can hold lots of conferences on global warming and feel good about doing so after riding the choo choo train. An aside: how come we never hear about important climate change conferences being held online?
Appropriately, the word “fan” comes from the word “Fanatic”.
This is the second, pro-government transportation thread you’ve posted in as many weeks.
What’s your interest in rail-transport, Willie? Anything personal to gain from it?
Or is it that you like the government having control over our transportation?
Or is it that you like for The Forgotten Man to pay for the transportation of others, when 17% of The Forgotten Men are out of work or are just getting by with stop-gap employment?
Right. A group known for their intelligence, as shown by their voting record.
During a historical convention some years ago, I rode alongside the author of several railroad-related books and got an interesting earful about "passenger train enthusiasts" that made me painfully aware of some subgroups that make up that demographic. I have not been able to take them seriously since.
Mr. niteowl77
An aside: how come we never hear about important climate change conferences being held online?
Because you're too lazy to Google for it???
Follow the UN Climate Change Conference online through Facebook, YouTube and twitter
Now this is an area with which I am well familiar.
CT is a pretty densely populated state, and except for the NW corner, easily the least populated. Not only are the towns small, but they don’t have a lot nearby.
There is already service running from New London to Boston (Acela, no less).
The roads in that part of the state are NOT crowded, and there are multiple routes to get to all of the points described.
The Metro North commuter to New London from NYC is already NOTORIOUSLY underused. When I ran for state rep in ‘96 I was asked by a man who worked that line what I would do with it. I told him that I would shut it down, but that he could drive the van that would replace it. He did NOT contradict me on the van being sufficient. Based on that, I don’t see a lot of people coming down to connect to go to New Haven or NYC. Besides, from Vermont, you’d want to come down through Hartford, or even upstate NY, NOT eastern CT.
The fact that anyone would even consider reviving a line in that part of the state makes me question their seriousness. I would rather revive the old line between Hooterville and Crabwell Corners. you’d get more passengers.
Hmmm ~ I doubt railroads can fix that problem.
Google.com is, of course, automating automobiles ~ and for mere pennies a mile. That way the kiddies could hop in their cars, crack their books, and take off, waking up only when they reached home for Mom's Thanksgiving Turkey!
Sounds like a winner eh!
You'll want to check out
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2605073/posts
Looks like we, the plebes, can follow online while the bigs meet in Cancun. Better than nothing eh?
Willie,
You really should not push something out of New London, that is were the Kelo case is from. Boy do we all now how well that turned out. GOV at its finest.
During a historical convention some years ago, I rode alongside the author of several railroad-related books and got an interesting earful about “passenger train enthusiasts” that made me painfully aware of some subgroups that make up that demographic. I have not been able to take them seriously since.
Hey, you can’t get away with a hanging chad. Can you?
Great—an express route to send even MORE flatlander moonbats to Vermont. And once they saturate there, they ooze over the border into New Hampshire.
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