Another Setback to Getting Train Service Back to and From the Dome | Syracusefan.com

Another Setback to Getting Train Service Back to and From the Dome

sutomcat

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Part of railroad bridge collapses in downtown Syracuse
 

Isn't this representative of what is needed, of the promised and improved, yet nothing has been done about it, national infrastructure program that would create thousands of jobs in this country?

IMO, at this point, the only way anyone is going to benefit from the multi - billion dollar needed improvements is if a congressman, congress woman or senator is on a train, going over a river on a bridge that collapses and there is loss of life – perhaps then something will actually be begun and continued - improvements made nationwide in every state? Or is this an example of the status quo - every bridge slowly degrading like the one in Syracuse?
 
Isn't this representative of what is needed, of the promised and improved, yet nothing has been done about it, national infrastructure program that would create thousands of jobs in this country?

IMO, at this point, the only way anyone is going to benefit from the multi - billion dollar needed improvements is if a congressman, congress woman or senator is on a train, going over a river on a bridge that collapses and there is loss of life – perhaps then something will actually be begun and continued - improvements made nationwide in every state? Or is this an example of the status quo - every bridge slowly degrading like the one in Syracuse?[/QUOTE

I'm puzzled why national infrastructure has never had any political wind in it's sails? It's a natural for kickbacks. Somebody has to get the contract. It will take a lot of money and a lot of contracts. Why the timidity? Seems to go against character.
 
A foretaste of what lies ahead for the Route 81 viaduct if the politicians keep dithering.
 
Isn't this representative of what is needed, of the promised and improved, yet nothing has been done about it, national infrastructure program that would create thousands of jobs in this country?

IMO, at this point, the only way anyone is going to benefit from the multi - billion dollar needed improvements is if a congressman, congress woman or senator is on a train, going over a river on a bridge that collapses and there is loss of life – perhaps then something will actually be begun and continued - improvements made nationwide in every state? Or is this an example of the status quo - every bridge slowly degrading like the one in Syracuse?


It depends on whether the Congressman is a Republican or a Democrat.
 
Yes, that is another problem. The biggest is that it is not profitable to run a shuttle train service. No one wants to foot the bill to pay for it.

Here is some live video of what happened:

[/
It may not pay for itself, but so what. It's an investment. Demanding that every public enterprise produce a profit is a fools errand. The library's not turning a profit either. Neither are the (non-toll) roads and bridges, or a host of other public institutions. The fact remains that transportation infrastructure is critical to spur private enterprise and tourism. I can't figure out why the City and County can't come up with a way to invest in a train/trolley to make it easier to get to/from downtown and the Dome.
 
Isn't this representative of what is needed, of the promised and improved, yet nothing has been done about it, national infrastructure program that would create thousands of jobs in this country?

IMO, at this point, the only way anyone is going to benefit from the multi - billion dollar needed improvements is if a congressman, congress woman or senator is on a train, going over a river on a bridge that collapses and there is loss of life – perhaps then something will actually be begun and continued - improvements made nationwide in every state? Or is this an example of the status quo - every bridge slowly degrading like the one in Syracuse?


But we needed to cut taxes for multi-billion dollar companies (and individuals) - so Apple and the rest could buy back stock!!

That is far more important than infrastructure and job creation.
 
But we needed to cut taxes for multi-billion dollar companies (and individuals) - so Apple and the rest could buy back stock!!

That is far more important than infrastructure and job creation.

Very true. The Trump tax cut is a huge facade in the realm. CEO's of many top companies admitted that they were most likely going to use this opportunity to enhance their own stock repurchasing program versus dumping the $$$ into infrastructure, growth, expansion, etc. Just more of the rich getting richer in the end. If Americans would pay more attention to this (no different then the aftermath of the financial crisis, etc.) they'd would be appalled & infuriated with such inequities.
 
Isn't this representative of what is needed, of the promised and improved, yet nothing has been done about it, national infrastructure program that would create thousands of jobs in this country?

IMO, at this point, the only way anyone is going to benefit from the multi - billion dollar needed improvements is if a congressman, congress woman or senator is on a train, going over a river on a bridge that collapses and there is loss of life – perhaps then something will actually be begun and continued - improvements made nationwide in every state? Or is this an example of the status quo - every bridge slowly degrading like the one in Syracuse?

Like when Congressman Steve Scalise was shot and it lead to stricter and more sensible gun laws.
 
Isn't this representative of what is needed, of the promised and improved, yet nothing has been done about it, national infrastructure program that would create thousands of jobs in this country?

IMO, at this point, the only way anyone is going to benefit from the multi - billion dollar needed improvements is if a congressman, congress woman or senator is on a train, going over a river on a bridge that collapses and there is loss of life – perhaps then something will actually be begun and continued - improvements made nationwide in every state? Or is this an example of the status quo - every bridge slowly degrading like the one in Syracuse?
Unfortunately the railroad companies are responsible for the maintenance of their bridges and tracks not government.
https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t49c11.pdf
 
Unfortunately the railroad companies are responsible for the maintenance of their bridges and tracks not government.
https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t49c11.pdf
That may be true .. personally I was commenting, not on the maintenance issue, but on the Dome-Downtown connection. If, as expected, a short "spur" like that is not expected to turn a profit, the RR will want to be reimbursed for the shortfall ... which is reasonable. It's worth the investment because it makes downtown more attractive as a destination if the Dome's a trolley-ride away and people can drink.
 
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That may be true .. personally I was commenting, not on the maintenance issue, but on the Dome-Downtown connection. If, as expected, a short "spur" like that is not expected to turn a profit, the RR's will want to be reimbursed for the shortfall ... which is reasonable.
It's worth the investment because it makes downtown more attractive as a destination if the Dome's a trolley-ride away and people can drink.
There seems to be two separate threads within this one thread. ;)
 
There seems to be two separate threads within this one thread. ;)

Two points: 1. When you look at the photograph of the aftermath of the portion of the side of the bridge collapse then look again, IMO that entire bridge looks exactly like the piece that collapsed and has every appearance of more pieces of the side collapsing, maybe the entire bridge. I wonder when the the once a year inspection by the RR company was – this past January?

2. Now that I know it's the RR company's responsibility I think it should act as a spur – a short trolley ride, per reedny, to get people to the Dome. BUT the RR company needs to be there today with their construction engineer(s) and make a decision as to what needs to be done like build a new bridge. Just think, then the RR company will be able to build not only the shortfall but also the cost of the bridge into the fares charged passengers and because of that amount of money they won't be able to ride it at all. Better ask the state for funding or better yet the RR company will shut the bridge down due to the cost of building a new one and cut off street access in case the bridge does collapse and pi** a lot of people off. It's the pessimistic view but could be today's business in action. Amazing! :(
 
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But, but, we have Queen Nancy's "connective corridor"! :rolling:
 
Two points: 1. When you look at the photograph of the aftermath of the portion of the side of the bridge collapse then look again, IMO that entire bridge looks exactly like the piece that collapsed and has every appearance of more pieces of the side collapsing, maybe the entire bridge. I wonder when the the once a year inspection by the RR company was – this past January?

2. Now that I know it's the RR company's responsibility I think it should act as a spur – a short trolley ride, per reedny, to get people to the Dome. BUT the RR company needs to be there today with their construction engineer(s) and make a decision as to what needs to be done like build a new bridge. Just think, then the RR company will be able to build not only the shortfall but also the cost of the bridge into the fares charged passengers and because of that amount of money they won't be able to ride it at all. Better ask the state for funding or better yet the RR company will shut the bridge down due to the cost of building a new one and cut off street access in case the bridge does collapse and pi** a lot of people off. It's the pessimistic view but could be today's business in action. Oh boy! :bat:

The inspection was supposedly May 31, 2017. How did it pass? Worse yet I imagine this isn’t the only crumbling bridge that passed inspection.
 
Unfortunately the railroad companies are responsible for the maintenance of their bridges and tracks not government.
https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t49c11.pdf
Not sure who owns the RR line now, It use to be part of the B@O railroad now defunct. This line has not been active for years except for the dome train. The infrastructure here is indeed private not public. This is what happens when private property is no longer needed, used, or maintained.
Definitely not a government issue unless you think the government should condemn and demand removal of this line.
 
Not sure who owns the RR line now, It use to be part of the B@O railroad now defunct. This line has not been active for years except for the dome train. The infrastructure here is indeed private not public. This is what happens when private property is no longer needed, used, or maintained.
Definitely not a government issue unless you think the government should condemn and demand removal of this line.

If the lack of maintenance effects public safety the government should have the right to require private corps to protect the public from their inaction.

According to Wlikipedia , CSX took over B&O railroad.
 
Not sure who owns the RR line now, It use to be part of the B@O railroad now defunct. This line has not been active for years except for the dome train. The infrastructure here is indeed private not public. This is what happens when private property is no longer needed, used, or maintained.
Definitely not a government issue unless you think the government should condemn and demand removal of this line.
Reading the article it seems The New York, Susquehanna and Western is responsible for maintenance.
Home Page of NYSW
 
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If the lack of maintenance effects public safety the government should have the right to require private corps to protect the public from their inaction.

According to Wlikipedia , CSX took over B&O railroad.

Seems to be owned by CSX now. That would be where condemnation would be called for, unless the RR wanted to spend $ to repair and upgrade. Seeing that this line has little to no usage, I would doubt they will want to sink much into funding repairs. The problem is, it is often difficult to get the private sector to take care of these things, too often it falls into public expenditures to fix the problem.
In my youth this line was often used to transport coal(not done any longer) and to transport limestone from the quarries south of Syracuse near Jamesville to Solvay Process Allied Chemical(no longer). Remember watching these trains pass by where I lived and later worked. As I said before a line no longer in use.
 
CSX/NYSW now use this line to move large stack trains up from Binghampton, probably daily.
 
If it falls on you, you'll wish somebody was made to fix it, (or tear it down), even if the government had to pitch in to get it done.

Very true, unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view the government has to go to court to force the private sector to do something and even then it would take a long time for anything to happen. It is fortunate no one was injured in this incident. Even if the government wanted to spend for this, it cannot just violate private property rights.
 

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