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If only politicians in the US were capable of seeing things this way.. So many smaller cities in the US northeast have been isolated from the regional economy

If only politicians in the US were capable of seeing things this way.. So many smaller cities in the US northeast have been isolated from the regional economy by railroad shutdowns, but there's so little interest in rail here anymore that I doubt local leadership even understand the severity of the problem. Great example being the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. Commuter rail connections to NYC and Philadelphia from Allentown & Bethlehem PA were completely dismantled in the 20th century. There's large highways connecting them but the drive is 2-3 hours, lots of traffic. It's grueling by car. Yet a person could comfortably commute by rail if it was available. So this sizable metro area with tons of charm, walkable town centers and 19th century housing stock almost frozen in time, just sitting economically sluggish as the larger cities prosper around them. Very frustrating.

ZanyProgrammer 11y ago
Yep a lot of passenger rail lines were turned into freight only lines in the mid 20th century. Alas even a lot of those freight lines are being abandoned now. Rail infrastructure is the kind of thing that is much easier and cheaper to maintain than it is to get rid of and then build anew.
Sanddancer 11y ago
They'll get there. It'll take time for them to realize what a gold mine they abandoned, but they'll get there. In the West Coast, that's happening with a lot of lines. Los Angeles still owns a good amount of the old Red Car right of Way, and many of the transit lines opened over the past 25 years have been built using that land, with a lot of the proposals for the next 25 years doing more of the same. The Bay Area did similar with BART, using a lot of newly abandoned rail right of way, and up here, many of the proposed projects have essentially been to reopen one rail line or another that's been closed for 40-50+ years.

ZanyProgrammer 11y ago

Yep a lot of passenger rail lines were turned into freight only lines in the mid 20th century. Alas even a lot of those freight lines are being abandoned now. Rail infrastructure is the kind of thing that is much easier and cheaper to maintain than it is to get rid of and then build anew.

Sanddancer 11y ago

They'll get there. It'll take time for them to realize what a gold mine they abandoned, but they'll get there. In the West Coast, that's happening with a lot of lines. Los Angeles still owns a good amount of the old Red Car right of Way, and many of the transit lines opened over the past 25 years have been built using that land, with a lot of the proposals for the next 25 years doing more of the same. The Bay Area did similar with BART, using a lot of newly abandoned rail right of way, and up here, many of the proposed projects have essentially been to reopen one rail line or another that's been closed for 40-50+ years.