The Delaware Transit Corp. has received a $500,000 grant to study the creation of a passenger rail line that would travel the length of the state and into the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Diamond State Line would include stops along the way, like in Middletown and Smyrna, and would use preexisting freight tracks. How would such a service affect your transportation in the region? How often would you use such a train? What, if any, are the disadvantages?
- I would love it! Get to work without the hassle. — Troy Stupart
- At first glance, I’d love this for going to the beach (I live in Bear and enjoy weekend trips to Rehoboth and Dewey). But then, I realized I pack way too much crap to take on a train. — Alison Coe
- I would love a way to get to a major airport without needing to pay for parking at an airport. — Katherine McColl
- Finish all the longtime road projects first. — Dennis Orlando Jr.
- I would love to see train service in Delaware! — Dee Schwartz
- We would use it. It also should link to the Baltimore airport. — Sam Klein
- It would be great for day trips. I would love to see the countryside without worrying about traffic. — Diane Keyser
- Way back in the day, there were passenger trains that brought tourists directly to the beach from more populous areas. Those lines have since been closed over and made into various “hiking/biking/walking trails.” Total missed opportunity, if you ask me. It would substantially reduce the carbon footprint and summer traffic in Sussex County if that were reinstituted. — Dawn Kifer
- If this is not a $500,000 overextension to make a certain someone in Delaware aligned with the current administration, the train service would support getting to air transportation, as well as enhance East Coast travel and tourism to other major hubs. — Ray Donahue
- $500,000. Wow. — Rusty Larimore
- Personally, I have no reason to use it. I imagine the people living near the tracks would not be happy. It comes down to economics. Would the cost of riding rail justify not driving to your destination? — Jeffrey Boyer
- For the better. — Gary A. Knox
- Oh, my God, that would be amazing. I’d ride it all the time if it stopped in Dover. I’d definitely use it to take trips to Middletown if the price/timetables were right. It would be awesome to eliminate driving more than I already have. — Donald Aird
- I definitely would use it! — Meg Berns
- I would love it. — Janice Crosby
- This would be great! I would love to have that as an option for travel. — Katrina Viddy
- I would use it if it was light rail. — Mary Gilbert Layton
- Improve it! I have to take my car from Sussex to get anywhere. — Karla Schmitt
- I would use it to get to the train in Wilmington and then farther north. — Pamela Holly Fredrickson
- How about throughout Delaware to a real airport? — Bruce Hyams
- I would gladly take a train to work! I live in Smyrna and drive to Lewes. — Wendy Mcallister Reaume
- I’d love to get a rail to the Eastern Shore of Virginia! Then, I’d need a rental truck to get to Southside or Chincoteague! — Lisa Constance Teichmann
- I’d ride from Smyrna to Newark daily if the price was right. — Rachel Talmo
- If it’s a light rail metro system like in D.C. and costs only a few dollars, I would ride it all the time. If it’s some lumbering oversized train like Amtrak ones that are designed for the traveler, then forget it. The one in St. Louis is a nice size, also. — N. Taylor Collins
- Rail service would be a good idea only if the rail took you directly to the beach area. If it goes to a park-and-ride area where buses could then take you to the beach, that would be great. — Stan Sipple
- Rail service is great but what happens when you arrive at your destination? Is there sufficient public transit to move people from the rail stop to where they want to go? — Andrea Bochnowski Maucher