tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post6116794294462308555..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: The Failing RailbanksCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-79609004785573568182010-12-17T08:04:52.423-05:002010-12-17T08:04:52.423-05:00The population may not be as large (500,000), but ...The population may not be as large (500,000), but Newfoundland and Labrador trashed rail at the urging of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney when the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_gauge" rel="nofollow">cap gauge</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Railway" rel="nofollow">Newfoundland Railway</a> was closed in 1988 and is now a trail. As someone born in Newfoundland and Labrador, I'm pissed about this.Matt Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18289893559555812236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-12791536182459532592009-01-19T23:15:00.000-05:002009-01-19T23:15:00.000-05:00Thanks for your comments, Chris. I don't understa...Thanks for your comments, Chris. I don't understand what you mean about gravel extractors, but that seems like a side issue.<BR/><BR/>It's not necessarily transit funding, but the government's inability to sustain car subsidies, that could make passenger service work again in your area. When no one can afford to drive up from the Bay Area, or go shopping in Eureka, they'll start taking the train.<BR/><BR/>I don't know the area, so I'll defer to your knowledge and take your word that the scenario I described above will be a long time coming. Certainly the fact that the railroad dead-ends in Humboldt County limits the number of passengers you're likely to get: no through passengers bound for Oregon.<BR/><BR/>It's possible that in this case, railbanking is the best thing to do. But I hope that you and the other railbanking advocates will do what you can to make it easy to reactivate the line when it's needed.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-24941169780573366902009-01-19T14:47:00.000-05:002009-01-19T14:47:00.000-05:00Hey Cap'nI'm one of those advocates for railbankin...Hey Cap'n<BR/>I'm one of those advocates for railbanking in Humboldt County, CA. While we are big supporters of transit, and work hard to get more funding to our transit system, passenger rail isn't in the cards here. It's gravel extractors looking for a subsidy to trash our rivers. They like to keep the public confused about whether passenger rail is really a possibility. Our biggest city has 25k people, not enough to make passenger rail work as anything other than a tourist train (at least until there is an extremely radical shift in transit funding at all levels of government). Our railroad has been dead ten years, and some big trees are growing between the rails.<BR/>Here is a link to a letter sent to the newspaper in response to the editorial you link to for Humboldt County:<BR/>http://green-wheels.org/node/530Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09341674331281828217noreply@blogger.com