Let's Think

Today there was an announcment that a railway company in California was going to have to pay $102 million dollars in fines because their employees started a brush fire.  Good, justice is going to be served, but are folks thinking about the opportunities here?

 Anyone who has worked on transportation issues knows that one of the biggest hold ups to communter rail is raising the funds to buy rights to use the tracks back from the rail companies.  (Yes, there is an element of irony here because often railways were given these lands for free, but that is another story). 

But what if some enterprising folks in California were able to negotiate a deal with the railroad to forgive the debt in exchange for a set or even a single key transportation right-of-way?  Even if $33 million is spent for tree replanting, the balance would likely yield a critical public transportation corridor in southern California.  Be a little creative and we might actually find some solutions in all of this!