The Truth to the Private Railroad Company’s Claims
A few have asked: Isn’t the Falmouth Secondary rail line in frequent use? To haul the towns’ trash? Doesn’t the use of trains keep many trucks off the roads? Wouldn’t it make sense to build the pathway next to, instead of in place of, the track?
Answers: No, no, no and no.
The town of Bourne has been quite deliberate in the approach to creating the Bourne Rail Trail and have considered closely the option of rail-with-trail. In fact, until the recent unanimous decision of the Bourne Select Board to pivot to rail-to-trail, the design being worked on was rail-with-trail. However, it has been clear for some time now, that we have a choice between having the pathway or having the rail line, but not both. Leaving the track will more than quadruple the cost, to what is estimated to be a staggering $80 million or more. In addition, the right of way for the rail line is quite narrow in many sections, so we would need to “take” property from adjoining landowners, a multi-year, perhaps even decades, process, if even possible. Finally, there will be a substantial fence required between the track and the path that will separate the coastline from the interior, not a situation anyone wants.
Those advocating for retaining the track have, unfortunately, been spreading some misinformation. The rail line is not in fact used much. It’s a lightly employed track, on which run an average of two or three trains per week. Those trains are not carrying municipal trash. None of the four Upper Cape towns have used the train for that purpose for many years now. The user is a private, for profit company hiring a private, for profit railroad operator to move its construction debris off Cape to Ohio. The dinner train runs only a few times a summer. There is no public use of the Falmouth Secondary line, yet it is subsidized by the taxpayers. The four Upper Cape towns’ income is solely from lease of the transfer station to the private construction debris disposal company, and amounts to approximately $20,000 per town per year. Finally, the claim by the track operator that it takes “thousands” of trucks off the road is particularly misleading. Taking at face value the operator's own numbers of of trains running and trucks removed, there are no more than ten trucks a day, and likely fewer, taken off the roads as a result of operation of the Falmouth Secondary line. Of course, those trucks are not entirely off the roads, since they are still needed to transport the construction debris to the transfer station to be loaded on the train.
While we all agree that we should be working to reduce our carbon footprint, the fact is that the pathway will also reduce load on the roads. There will be people who commute on the pathway, rather than driving, since the pathway will significantly increase safety for bikers, walkers and drivers alike by virtue of their no longer having to share the roads (Shore Road, in particular, is a great example). There will also be those who jump on the pathway in Bourne rather than driving down to the start of the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth.
In short, the people who have been working on this project for many years now, as well as federal, state and local officeholders, have reached the conclusion that the public benefit of the pathway (health and and aesthetic benefits, traffic safety, a boon to local businesses, and a world-class amenity for residents and visitors) far outweighs the benefit of the lightly and limited use of the rail line.
The Friends Advocate for a “Rail-to-Trail” Pathway, 2023
The Friends of the Bourne Rail Trail are so fortunate to have now been joined by influential local, state and federal leaders in advocating for a pivot from the rail-with-trail design pursued to date to a rail-to-trail project. Building the trail in place of, rather than adjacent to, the little used Falmouth Secondary rail line, is a simpler, much less expensive, and significantly less environmentally impactful approach, that will result in the user friendly trail envisioned all along.
Perhaps most critical to this pivot has been the tremendous support of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Agency (CCRTA) which has secured federal funds adequate to build the Bourne Rail Trail in its entirety, provided we remove the Falmouth Secondary to create a rail-to-trail pathway.
On March 7, 2023 upon the recommendation of the Town Administrator’s Advisory Committee on Bicycle Pedestrian Pathway, and with the encouragement of Senator Susan Moran and Representatives David Vieira and Steven Xiarhos, and staff members from Congressman William Keating, Senator Edward Markey, and Senator Elizabeth Warren in attendance, the Bourne Select Board voted unanimously to endorse the pivot to rail-to-trail and ask Governor Maura Healey to direct the removal of the Falmouth Secondary rail line and build the trail with the available funding as expeditiously as possible.
That resolution was accompanied by a packet of information and letters of support put together by the CCRTA and the Friends. We are now awaiting the Governor’s response.
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Want to read more? See these recent articles from the Bourne Enterprise:
Guest Commentary: Beware the Motives of Those Arguing to Retain the Tracks
by Ken Cheitlin and David Mcpherson
October 2022 | Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride
The Bourne Rail Trail Blazers participated in our fifth consecutive year riding as a team in the annual Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride. The Friends are grateful to the 32 team members that raised $28,250 for the Buzzards Bay Coalition and $17,800 in matching funds for the Friends of the Bourne Rail Trail. We look forward to next year’s ride with the BRT Blazers!
June 2022 | Bourne Rail Trail awarded $499,000 by MassTrails
The Bourne Rail Trail project was awarded a state grant of $499,000 from the MassTrails program for design and engineering of Phases 1 and 4. This is the third and largest grant the project has received from MassTrails, with $285,000 awarded in 2019 and $100,000 in 2020.
The town committee responsible for overseeing the project (Administrator’s Advisory Committee on Bike and Pedestrian Pathways) is credited with submitting these successful applications for the MassTrails grant. The project is lucky to have so many resourceful and dedicated folks volunteering their time to make this trail a reality!
This award shows that the project is gaining momentum with state officials who see the benefits in investing significant funds in the project.
October 2021 | Blazers Sweep Watershed Ride Fundraising Awards
Our very own Ken Cheitlin accepted the prize for top individual fundraiser at $12,096, and the BRT Blazers were recognized as the top fundraising team at nearly $46,000. Outstanding!
September 2021 | Phase 1 Comment Letter on 25% Design
Read the Friends’ formal comment letter on the 25% Design proposal for Phase 1.
July 2020 | FBRT Featured on Chronicle5 WCVB “Rail Trail” Episode
The Bourne Rail Trail project was featured on WCVB’s Chronicle program.