Concord rail trail planners urge state to buy abandoned line

Rail trail advocates in and around Concord who want to extend an existing 57-mile trail into the capital are pushing the state government to be more proactive about buying available land in the corridor.

Otherwise, they said, a newly abandoned six miles of railroad could sit idle for years under the ownership of Pan Am Railways, instead of linking the city’s downtown into a multi-use trail that already stretches to Lebanon.

Or worse: A private buyer could negotiate a deal and spoil the uninterrupted right-of-way.

The state has the right of first refusal to buy the new segment of abandoned railroad from Concord’s Horseshoe Pond to the Boscawen line. But it hasn’t entered into talks to do so since the abandonment became official in March, according to Department of Transportation Commissioner Victoria Sheehan.

Read more: http://www.concordmonitor.com/merrimack-river-greenway-trail-proponents-urge-state-to-buy-abandoned-railroad-right-of-way-concord-nh-11789399