The part of these things that really kills me, is that once the NIMBY's and environmentalist kill something like this, then they file suit saying that if you leave the rail and ties there that is also a hazard to the environment. So essentially they get you whether you are coming or going. I think part of this analysis should consider the impacts to the environment for all options, restore it, remove it, or do nothing. Then the relevant argument is how much worse is it to restore it versus the other options. Of course if you really had a creative writer, and you really did believe all this business would materialize with or without the railroad then you could make a pretty good argument that the railroad would really be the most environmentally friendly alternative.