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  • Increased traffic in Montpelier spurs debate

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Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

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 #742228  by MikeVT
 
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20091 ... FEATURES07

By SUSAN ALLEN TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: November 23, 2009

MONTPELIER – A proposal to run trains carrying granite waste from Barre through downtown Montpelier has spurred Mayor Mary Hooper to call a special City Council meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m., to allow members and the public to comment on the plan.

The proposal, which would mean a huge boost in traffic on the little-used rail line, was discussed Thursday at a meeting coordinated by the Barre Partnership. Under the plan, the additional train service would move Rock of Ages' waste material from the quarry site down a 13-mile stretch of existing track to the Montpelier Junction railway station, where it would be moved onto the existing train route for transport to a potential buyer, Hooper said Sunday.
 #742252  by b&m 1566
 
Among the concerns the mayor cited was the potential of traffic backups linked to the trains' passing. She said the city got a taste of that problem this summer, when road construction on River Street and Route 302 led to long, frustrating traffic delays for drivers.

There are five intersections where roads cross railroad tracks in Montpelier's downtown alone, Hooper said. Some of those already experience traffic backups during certain hours – backups that would likely be exacerbated by train crossings.

She said a 40-car train is one-third of a mile in length, and could require that two or three intersections be closed at once to allow the full train to completely pass. Hooper said gates would probably have to be installed at the city's intersections to stop cars for the trains' passing.
A 40 car train isn't that long and would take only a few minutes to pass. I doubt the train would foul up traffic that much.


Another worry is pedestrian safety. Montpelier is a walking-friendly community, Hooper said, and increased train traffic could erode that distinction.
This shouldn’t be an issue; nobody should be walking on the tracks to begin with.


In addition, three businesses – including M&M Beverage Center on Main Street, a nearby bank and a business in Barre – allow parking near the tracks, which are seldom used, Hooper said.
Again this shouldn’t be an issue; people shouldn’t be parking so close to the tracks that someone or something could be struck by the train. A nice fence could take care of the safety concerns for those who don’t pay attention.
 #742260  by TomNelligan
 
Ya gotta love those NIMBYs. Big, terrible, dangerous trains on a line that's been there for, oh, about 150 years! Save us!

I'm glad to see that a majority of the readers responding to the article don't buy the mayor's scare tactics.
 #742263  by Tracer
 
Lets see a 40 car train can equal 120 trucks, would the mayor rather see all those trucks or 1 train?
 #742298  by Hux
 
b&m 1566 wrote:

In addition, three businesses – including M&M Beverage Center on Main Street, a nearby bank and a business in Barre – allow parking near the tracks, which are seldom used, Hooper said.
Again this shouldn’t be an issue; people shouldn’t be parking so close to the tracks that someone or something could be struck by the train. A nice fence could take care of the safety concerns for those who don’t pay attention.
If I remember correctly from a visit last winter, the business in Barre is a sports bar on Prospect Street where the tracks run feet from the main entrance.
 #742463  by Dick H
 
While on the subject of Vermont projects, somewhere on the drawing board
is a proposal to build the so-called Middlebury spur, a 3.3 mile line from the
OMYA quarry to the Vermont Railway main line in Middlebury. This would
remove many large trucks running between the quarry and the OMYA plant
in Florence.

I have not seen any updates on this project since late last year and a "google"
search seemed to bring up only items from nearly a year ago. There were/are
a number of opponents to the project and I would expect them to resurface if
and when the project is brought back to the front burner.

Here's an article from the Rutland Herald describing the project.
http://tinyurl.com/yk9l7t5

Dick
 #742499  by highrail
 
We had a great trip on this line in the spring with the MBRRE. I would think that they will need to beef up the rail conditions to handle the traffic. I hope it works!

The reader comments on the article were pretty interesting, and fairly well balanced...unusual.

I have to add...there really is not too much "character" to be threatened in downtown Montpelier...nice town, but let's not get carried away...
 #742722  by CannaScrews
 
Dear Mayor:

I realise that you have a unique role in your community, having to balance efforts between the business community and your constituents.


I am glad you are willing to tackle the railroad side of the issue pertaining to the blocking of the various railroad crossings in town.

However, and I am sure you have looked at this - since a person of your position has to look at all sides of the issue - is the alternatives:

1. The quarry does not ship its products due to high shipping costs via truck and closes or reduces its workforce - affecting your constitutents
2. Rail shipping has been eliminated due to the outcry by people being delayed by 5 minutes at a crossing, thereby shifting the balance to trucks - which will account for approximately a fourfold increase in traffic on your local roads at at all times of the day - when the school busses are ferrying their cargo around
3. Due to #2 - your streets will be degraded and have to be repaved on an accelerated schedule - before the mud season kicks in.
4. Even if state or federal funds are available - do you have the staff to pursue those endeavours????

So, does a few minutes of a few peoples time equate to the hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional expense to the town????
 #743273  by bigfreight
 
I was thru Montpeiler on the 23rd and noticed a Vermont railway worker working on the crossing boxes in the area around the new rotary on US2. It appeared that they have upgraded the crossing signals and gates in the area around the new rotary.
 #743772  by rjones2
 
We have hit on alot of valid points from both sides of the spectrum. Granted, as railfans we tend to show bias towards wanting to see the trains run again, the rails look great, etc. but there are strong economic incentives to having this rail service again. The area serves as a microcosm of most of New England (especially Northern New England) in the sense that there have been economic woes due to a collapse in the local industry (such as Northern New Hampshire and Maine with the closing of paper mills, etc).

It would be extremely irresponsible for the mayor of Montpelier to try to thwart Rock of Ages and the mayors of Barre, Graniteville, etc. over "loud and noisy" trains going through the town at "all hours" as her reasoning for not wanting this to go forward. Simply put, shipping by rail is the most cost effective form of transport for Rock of Ages. An infrastructure is in place (although it needs to be upgraded) and would be a welcome sight again.

I believe Vermont Rail System knows exactly what they are doing and I look forward to seeing the trains run on shiny, polished rail in 2010.
 #743777  by gprimr1
 
I'm suprised that anywhere in Vermont, with it's liberal atmosphere, would try to increase trucks on the road.

There's a good point here too that New England needs industry. They can't survive on tourism alone.
 #744519  by NellieBly
 
Just as a bit of trivia, Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the United States. It's really not a very big place.

The tracks do not really pass through downtown. They're along the river, on the south edge of downtown. There are a number of pretty widely spaced grade crossings. You'd really have to plan carefully to manage to block all of them simultaneously with one train.

The railroad has had almost no traffic since the Bombardier plant in Barre closed. The hill trackage beyond Barre is out of service. There is really nothing much in downtown Barre (the aforementioned sports bar and maybe a diner). Would anyone really prefer that the railroad be abandoned?
 #744611  by coosvalley
 
Would anyone really prefer that the railroad be abandoned?
Apparently,the Mayor would! :wink:

Seriously, though, does this mean the switchbacks might see regular service again?