The cynical/conspiracy theory part of me thinks that John Kennedy may have been kind of forced out because of his strong stance on passenger service.
The "talk of the town" is that maybe the new owners won't be as pushy with the passenger service so at the behest of the state, and the special interests it's protecting, kind of encouraged the board of directors to force a leadership change. I want to stress that this is wild speculation on my part, but if you look at the pattern that this state operates by announcing that it's "working on" getting passenger rail and is talking with CCC management, then throws a wrench in the works by saying there's "no money" for the rail service, and subsequently thinks up of "101 excuses" as to why it won't work. Many of the excuses are often announced by so-called rail supporter Tom Cahir, who once announcing that rail service would be a good thing, immediately follows with a comment of: "there's no money now," or the "grade crossings need upgrading," and another one recently in the Cape Cod Times. "People living next to the track may not want the trains running by their houses." Never mind that the active rail line has been in place for over 150 years.
Whether intentional or not, these excuses only serve to embolden and enable the opposition, while a good many of the rail supporters, (but not all) IMHO are timid as it is.
Anyway, that's my observation, and as flawed as it may be, others have been thinking the same way. When you realize that Cape Rail has been pushing for this low-cost proposal for years, and the pattern keeps repeating, and yet more roads are built while our tax-funded rail infrastructure is not used to its fullest potential, how can one not help but form that opinion?
Maybe I'm missing something, I sure hope so.
If Boston to Cape Cod rail service occurs in 2012 I will eat a jelly doughnut dipped in tomato sauce.
