Railroad funding since 2001 could exceed $17 million
CHENANGO COUNTY – The New York State Department of Transportation said Tuesday that the New York Susquehanna & Western railroad’s operations statewide have received $12 million in funding since 2001.
NYS&W confirmed Monday that the company is now asking for $5.6 million to repair and upgrade its lines, including a roughly 40-mile stretch between Sherburne and Chenango Forks that has been closed since June due to flood damage.
“We’ve asked for it,” said railroad spokesman Nathan Fenno. “We don’t know if we’ll get it.”
Fenno said the NYS&W would not be using the money to develop passenger service, as was reported Monday based on a letter from Empire State Development chairman Patrick Foye. Instead, the money would be used for general upgrades and flood repairs, Fenno said.
There are currently no rail customers on the closed lines, and unless business can be recruited or the funding is granted, the tracks could be abandoned in the next few months, the railroad has said. Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter said talks with the Cooperstown-based NYS&W and other state agencies to re-open the lines will continue.
“If they don’t get funded to the full amount they’ve asked for, they’ll probably prioritize the money to areas that are still in service,” Carpenter said.
Since 2001, the railroad has used $4 million in funding to improve tracks between Binghamton and Utica, including the 40 miles that are out of order.
The DOT has $20 million available in railroad assistance grants for 2007. In total, since 2005 the agency has set-aside $100 million for railroad companies under the Rail Freight and Passenger Rail Assistance Program, which expires in 2010. A good portion of the most recent funding has gone to re-vamping passenger lines in the Adirondack Park and Capital region. Amtrak has also been slated for $15 million over the next three years to complete three different projects. In 2005, 19 railroads obtained $40 million in DOT dollars.
If the NYS&W does receive assistance, it has to use the money on a specified project, said DOT spokeswoman Carol Breen.
“The railroad would have to use the funding on the project they requested it for,” said Breen. “They can’t just use it on anything.”
City of Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano said a functioning railroad, even though the industry has declined, is a key component to addressing future economic development issues.
“By having that railroad secure we can put that out as a selling point to new industries,” he said. “To have no access to railroad – it puts us in a bad spot.”
Maiurano said it will take state and federal action to catalyze what he believes is a necessary resurgence in rail use.
When asked via an e-mail transmission what the likelihood is that the NYS&W would receive any or all of the funding, Breen did not comment. Carpenter said the company was denied in an earlier round of requests.
The railroad has come under fire since last March when it was announced that New York Regional Interconnect Inc., the subsidiary of a Canadian energy firm, was proposing to build a 190-mile-long high voltage power line using NYS&W right-of-ways. The power line would traverse 44 miles of Chenango County.
To abandon the railroad, the NYS&W would have to file with the federal Surface Transportation Board and go through a hearing process. In the fall, the company put out a notice of abandonment.
The railroad has tracks running from New Jersey to Binghamton, and from Binghamton to both Syracuse and Utica.
NYS&W confirmed Monday that the company is now asking for $5.6 million to repair and upgrade its lines, including a roughly 40-mile stretch between Sherburne and Chenango Forks that has been closed since June due to flood damage.
“We’ve asked for it,” said railroad spokesman Nathan Fenno. “We don’t know if we’ll get it.”
Fenno said the NYS&W would not be using the money to develop passenger service, as was reported Monday based on a letter from Empire State Development chairman Patrick Foye. Instead, the money would be used for general upgrades and flood repairs, Fenno said.
There are currently no rail customers on the closed lines, and unless business can be recruited or the funding is granted, the tracks could be abandoned in the next few months, the railroad has said. Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter said talks with the Cooperstown-based NYS&W and other state agencies to re-open the lines will continue.
“If they don’t get funded to the full amount they’ve asked for, they’ll probably prioritize the money to areas that are still in service,” Carpenter said.
Since 2001, the railroad has used $4 million in funding to improve tracks between Binghamton and Utica, including the 40 miles that are out of order.
The DOT has $20 million available in railroad assistance grants for 2007. In total, since 2005 the agency has set-aside $100 million for railroad companies under the Rail Freight and Passenger Rail Assistance Program, which expires in 2010. A good portion of the most recent funding has gone to re-vamping passenger lines in the Adirondack Park and Capital region. Amtrak has also been slated for $15 million over the next three years to complete three different projects. In 2005, 19 railroads obtained $40 million in DOT dollars.
If the NYS&W does receive assistance, it has to use the money on a specified project, said DOT spokeswoman Carol Breen.
“The railroad would have to use the funding on the project they requested it for,” said Breen. “They can’t just use it on anything.”
City of Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano said a functioning railroad, even though the industry has declined, is a key component to addressing future economic development issues.
“By having that railroad secure we can put that out as a selling point to new industries,” he said. “To have no access to railroad – it puts us in a bad spot.”
Maiurano said it will take state and federal action to catalyze what he believes is a necessary resurgence in rail use.
When asked via an e-mail transmission what the likelihood is that the NYS&W would receive any or all of the funding, Breen did not comment. Carpenter said the company was denied in an earlier round of requests.
The railroad has come under fire since last March when it was announced that New York Regional Interconnect Inc., the subsidiary of a Canadian energy firm, was proposing to build a 190-mile-long high voltage power line using NYS&W right-of-ways. The power line would traverse 44 miles of Chenango County.
To abandon the railroad, the NYS&W would have to file with the federal Surface Transportation Board and go through a hearing process. In the fall, the company put out a notice of abandonment.
The railroad has tracks running from New Jersey to Binghamton, and from Binghamton to both Syracuse and Utica.
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