The debate over the proposed rail-to-trail conversion of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad has been pretty one-sided in the letters column. I would like to make the case for the railroad.
Trail advocates claim the cost of a new Lake Placid-Tupper Lake trail would be entirely offset by the income from the salvage and sale of the tracks. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy report estimates the trail would attract some 224,000 overnight visitors spending almost $20 million annually.
Yet, according to the think-tank ADK Action's Adirondack Rail Corridor: Economic Impact Study, the recreation trail Lake Placid-Tupper Lake would cost $14.6 million while scraping the tracks would bring in only $2.7 million. The study estimated a total of 83,000 bikers and snowmobilers, including about 28,053 overnight visitors spending $1.2 million.
Extending tourist rail service to Tupper Lake from Lake Placid is estimated to cost $10.6 million, attracting 24,500 riders, including 8,400 new overnight visitors spending $522,769. Today, the Adirondack Scenic Railroad has more than 50,000 total annual riders.
The cost of full Lake Placid-Utica rail restoration plus 20 years of annual maintenance is $43 million. This would enable direct charter train, ski train and even Amtrak service.
Lake Placid hosts about 1.8 million overnight visitors annually; this is not a railroad to nowhere.
Benjamin Turon
Ballston Spa