Yeah, we can just...build back the stuff that was already there that we could have used for the cost of renovation but now have to rebuild from scratch. lolimsosmartarntI!
The absolute key is to still have the right of way. Bonus if the bridges are still sound. Putting the rails back is trivial and all the other infrastructure (signals, level crossings, safety fences etc) has to be renewed anyway.
In the case of disused (bike trail) rail corridors around here (Ottawa) I think the chief concern would be NIMBY pressure. Going from a quiet bike trail to a busy commuter train route... OMG property values!
> In the case of disused (bike trail) rail corridors around here (Ottawa) I think the chief concern would be NIMBY pressure. Going from a quiet bike trail to a busy commuter train route... OMG property values!
About a decade ago, CN bought out the EJ&E to use as a bypass around Chicago. The communities near the tracks were outraged and tried to block the deal, since it would transform the railway from a low-traffic route to a much higher-traffic. Yeah, there's serious NIMBY pressure on merely upgrading a train route; reconverting a local trail is going to be seriously worse.