NH Resources

  There is a proposal to tear up part of the state owned rail line between Concord and Lincoln for a multi-use recreational bike trail.🚵🚵🚵     It's an idea that should at least be considered.   Purchased in 1975 from a bankrupt Boston & Maine railroad this state owned rail line has never been anything more than seasonal tourist trains and a scant few freight cars serving industries that really no longer even exist.   This is compounded by the fact that the state has no plans or even a strategy to market these rail properties or even improve them. The attitude of DOT Commissioner Victoria T. Sheehan is indifference, I know because I've asked her about state owned rail lines like the Concord-Lincoln line.     Regional Planning Commissions or even the Office of Business and Economic Affairs could advance both state and federal grant applications for this rail line, but they don't because this lethargic rail line just isn't a state prio...

 The Flying Yankee train is nostalgic nuisance that needs to be cut up and scrapped.     Retired Green Mountain railroad executive Frederick Bailey made a recent unsupported argument that this train should be moved up to the Bartlett rail yard where after languishing in Lincoln for years something meaningful will actually happen to this historic state owned train. It won't.     The Flying Yankee train set has been a state liability since it was donated by  Bob Morrill, it was also a political deal cut by former Executive Councilor Ray Burton. The now mostly abandoned train sits needing over $275,000.00 in direct rehabilitation plus another $200,000 a year in operating costs and an expensive liability policy as it's lightweight construction and articulated wheel sets are prone to derailments. None of this changes if the train were to be moved up to Bartlett. The Flying Yankee In A Different Time.    Last fall I appealed to Governor Chris...

 There is a proposal to tear up part of the state owned rail line between Concord and Lincoln for a multi-use recreational bike trail.    It's an idea that should at least be considered.   Purchased in 1975 from a bankrupt Boston & Maine railroad this state owned rail line has never been anything more than seasonal tourist trains and a scant few freight cars serving industries that really no longer even exist. New Hampshire Has No Strategy To Market It's Railroads.   This is compounded by the fact that the state has no plans or even a strategy to market these rail properties or even improve them. The attitude of DOT Commissioner Victoria T. Sheehan is indifference, I know because I've asked her about state owned rail lines like the Concord-Lincoln line.   Regional Planning Commissions or even the Office of Business and Economic Affairs could advance both state and federal grant applications for this rail line, but they don't because this letharg...

 Vermont should suspend it's Amtrak service and it's state subsidy.      Amtrak needs to improve it's state operations and run a well-managed, competitive railroad.   Throughout this winter (2018) I've witnessed half-empty Vermonter and Ethan Allen Express trains traverse through Vermont as Greyhound bus lines ran on exactly the same routes with better service and prices. Their coaches weren't half-empty either. Not Many Palm Trees In Vermont.   Started in 1971 after the bankruptcy of the Penn Central railroad Amtrak has strayed from its original purpose to save passenger rail. Instead its become a labyrinthine bureaucracy based in Washington that doesn't respond to anything including market conditions.    For example, Amtrak has a corporate goal in it's route planning of serving state capitols like Montpelier. They've actually scrapped better route proposals like Boston to Burlington because of policies like this which makes no sense. B...

 Vermont could have one of the best passenger rail systems in the country.     It isn't to be and the reason is politics and chaos and it's on both sides of the river.      During the last 30 years I've watched Vermont taxpayers throw millions of dollars in financial subsidy at Amtrak in exchange for empty seats and an unclear direction for the future. Nothing has ever changed.    The Amtrak Vermonter train which truncates at St. Albans is politically supported by Senator Patrick Leahy and more recently, New Hampshire's Senator Maggie Hassan.There is an expensive proposal to bring this train back to it's original namesake, Montreal. Nothing is ever said about ridership numbers for this idea. "They are so critical for our state's and businesses." Sen. Hassan said in support of Amtrak. She hasn't said which New Hampshire businesses and how Amtrak running up and down the Connecticut River Valley could be considered "critical." Is ...