Re: “Economics show E&N rail line is a lost cause,” comment, Dec. 2.
I agree with writer James P. Crowley that the E&N line is not viable as a working commuter train at this time. Currently, the greatest value of the line is the corridor itself. Its liabilities include the steel rails, the wooden ties that very likely were treated with creosote and the costs of removal of same.
Keeping this corridor intact for recreational use is very important to preserve it for future uses. We are seeing new modes of travel in the news: Electric cars are finding their place on the roads, Tesla introduced its electric truck and soon self-driving cars will be turning heads.
I am sure the day will come when the E&N corridor will be worth its weight in gold, when a mode of travel will be economically viable: Electric buses (a flexible mode where a bus can leave the corridor and return), magnetic-levitation trains or maybe something now existing only on a paper napkin.
It is possible to see a future for the old E&N line. Hold on to it by all means, keep an eye on what is coming down the pike and it could very well become the jewel of transportation on Vancouver Island.
Joy Robinson
Victoria
