"With regard to tourist railroads, here in CT both the Valley RR and the Naugatuck RR/RMNE operate on lines owned by CT DOT."

Partially correct. VRR leases its property and rail line from Connecticut DEEP (Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection) as a linear state park. It is not under the CDOT Rail ownership umbrella, but is subject to regulatory oversight by CDOT Rail. The linear state park setup came about as Penn Central was abandoning the line in 1969, and that method was decided upon to preserve the 21-mile line for the then-forming Valley Railroad Company. VRR is not a common-carrier freight railroad.

Naugatuck Railroad Company is a common-carrier general system railroad, operating 19+ miles leased from CDOT. CDOT Rail purchased the line (and others in the area) from Boston & Maine Corp. in 1982.

CDOT owns a number of rail lines operated by freight railroads, in addition to owning the major passenger/commuter rail corridor between New Haven and the NY State border at Greenwich, CT.

Howard P.

Thank you for the correction, Howard.

-Philip Marshall

The Presidio border crossing is projected to open January 2025.

I saw that, the delay apparently concerns setting up a border control point with an x-ray machine, agents, etc. for $30M, which I believe they now have the money appropriated for. A 100 car ballast train traveled the section between Alpine and Presidio dumping ballast a year or so ago, they think that was the longest and heaviest train ever on that section, most of that section was excepted track but is now good for 25MPH. Would be fun to see a stack train out there, twenty or so years ago the track looked like an abandoned, unballasted antique.

What they have done is great from where it started from. Last time I was out there, it was pretty desolate. But from what I have seen, this railroad is absolutely back from the dead.

When ConRail replaced PC and RDG, the Philadelphia commuter lines that Amtrak did not get flowed to SEPTA, which is a PA State Agency. SEPTA also gained RDG's Stony Creek Branch between Norristown and Lansdale, which ties two electrified branches together. SEPTA took direct ownership of the tracks.

Phil Mulligan

Washington State owns a bunch of former NP lines, and has private operators run the lines.
https://wsdot.wa.gov/business-wsdot/freight-railways

Dan

Here is a map from the Massachusetts DOT Rail Plan which indicates which lines are currently owned by the Commonwealth.

In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Southern (WSOR) operates over the state and county owned tracks of the former Milwaukee Road, Chicago & North Western, Illinois Central, and Wisconsin and Calumet railroads.

The state of North Carolina owns the abandoned right away between Wallace and Wilmington, North Carolina on the original W&W railroad. It’s being discussed as a potential passenger route into Wilmington.