by mwhite
Cowford wrote:Service disruptions certainly occur from time-to-time, but I wouldn't consider the "best part of a week" to be extended.You have totally ignored my point which is that a relatively small washout shut us down for days (and it happened again recently). What would happen if an entire bridge goes out? Don't ignore the possibility of that type of event. There have been numerous major bridge washouts around the country (read the train magazines if you don't believe me).
Cowford wrote:You don't have a "reserve" line for the Northeast corridorNot true. There are many other routings (not electrified) to bypass problems on the NEC.
Cowford wrote:so When was the last catastrophic (call it three weeks+) route disruption in Maine? The only example I can think of was the NB floods (in early 1987?) that severed CP's Fort Fairfield and Caribou branches... and all that did was prompt CP to accelerate the abandonment process. If those lines were viable, they would have been quickly put back in service.My point exactly! Since they didn't have alternative, it was game over. As lines and connections are removed, more and more lines end up with single interchange lines and become more at risk.
Not looking at the big picture is exactly what puts Maine jobs in jeopardy. Looking at solely the bottom line dollars ignores the very real intangible benefits of having alternate routes, passenger operations, fair taxation and subsidies (direct and indirect), and so on. Your myopic view of the railroad industry, whether intentional or not, fortunately is not shared by many who see the bigger picture of an integrated transportation network that serves the entire public, not just trucks and buses.