RAILROAD ABANDONMENT AND THE SMALL COMMUNITY: FIVE CASE STUDIES

This report addresses the problems of railway line abandonment, particularly in New England towns. The main thrust is to discover how abandonment affects a community and especially its small businessman many of whom are absolutely rail dependent. It questions whether a comprehensive analysis of these impacts, satisfactory to community and railroad interests, if possible. As a case study, the report does not make cost extrapolations, but rather draws its conclusions from the opinions of the individual businessmen and government officials who deal with the New England railroads in their day to day transactions. The study is divided into two parts. The first is an overview of the historical and legal evolution of the railroad problem. The second reports on the case studies of several New England towns served by the bankrupt Penn Central lines that have either been abandoned in the last three years or are threatened with abandonment under the Railroad Reorganization Act of 1973.

  • Corporate Authors:

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Center for Transportation Studies, Room 1121
    Cambridge, MA  United States  02139
  • Authors:
    • Vittek Jr, J F
    • Lambert, E
    • Polito, M
  • Publication Date: 1976-3

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; References;
  • Pagination: 70 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00174348
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Report/Paper Numbers: CTS-76-5
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: May 31 1978 12:00AM