Down East rail line destruction

[Shorebound]

While I'm not trying to turn this forum into my personal blog, maybe some people here can help me understand something. Why do people want to tear up the rail line between Ellsworth and Calais and turn it into a recreational trail? It seems to me that we should be renovating old rail lines to carry freight and passengers, not ripping them up. And if recreational use is an issue, doesn't the ROW along the river in Gardiner and Hallowell include both an active rail line and a walking trail? Shouldn't that be a more acceptable model as we enter an era of declining energy supplies?

This strikes me as a basic policy issue that the state should address now, when we have the luxury of some little time for planning before the real energy crunch arrives.