After reading article after article about how we should be ripping up the rails for scrap on the Calais railroad line, it was refreshing to read Ken Jackman’s op-ed, “Don’t rip up Calais Branch” (BDN, May 1-2). At last, a voice of reason and common sense.

We must look at the long-term prospects of what a valuable asset we have here. Freight use and even passenger train service, will return to this line and it will benefit the whole economy of the area.

How many times must we widen Route 1 and take people’s land so that more vehicles can poison our air with their exhaust?

Trains are extremely efficient at moving large amounts of cargo and passengers long distances.

To rip it up and forever lose such a unique right-of-way would be foolhardy.

It is my hope that common sense will prevail; that the state and the towns involved can work together to keep this rail line intact for the day when it will be reopened and once again be a friendly neighbor contributing to the vital economy of the area it serves.

Gregory S. Coad

Blue Hill