To The Daily Sun,
Laconia Mayor-elect Andew 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 rail fans that want to return New Hampshire to the glory days of 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 manufacturing 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
(2) comments
Also, while it is true there will be driverless trucks in the future, they will not have a impact on trains. Trucks will still have the same weight limits as they do know. The average rail car holds around 286,000LBS of freight. The most a over the road truck can carry is between 50,000 and 100,000 lbs. It would still cost the shipper the same amount to truck it, and would require between 3 and 6 trucks to move the same amount of freight as one rail car.
I don't want to be the one to say this, but the railroad continues to make more money on this stretch than the trail currently does. Trails are paid for and maintained by the people, meaning that anything that needs to be done to it such as the resurfacing of it (which costs around 250,000 to 500,000 per mile and this number is from the 2018 addition of the Building Construction Costs book from RSMeans.com). Since the trail group doesn't take in any profits, they wouldn't be able to fund these upgrades and repairs. Where the railroad has the lease on the line, they are required to maintain the track, and have to pay a sum every year towards a fund managed by the state for repairs and upgrades on all of the rail lines. Finally the trail just wont work. The draw bridge in Lakeport would have to stay closed almost 24/7 to allow trail users to cross it. This would prevent any boats from going through. This night mare could be solved by building a taller structure, but would add millions to the cost of the trail. A bypass could be built, but would cost a similar amount with the purchase of land.
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