NORWICH – The New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad’s tracks in Chenango County are too crucial an asset to let go, local officials agreed Tuesday, despite the company’s questionable use of funding and a controversial deal with a power line company.

Considering high fuel costs nationally and a lacking highway locally, a group of 17 local, state and federal officials at a special meeting regarding the railroad believe rail lines will play an important role in the county’s economic future.

In November, the Cooperstown-based NYS&W announced it would seek to formally abandon its historically under-used and currently closed stretch of rails from Greene to Sherburne. Prior to pulling-up the tracks and selling them for scrap, however, company officials are willing to explore other options, Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter said. At the forefront, the NYS&W is asking for $450,000 from the county or the state to fix and re-open the lines, which were heavily damaged in last June’s flooding.

“We’re here to see what we can do to keep the railroad open or find other options,” Carpenter said.

The group agreed to focus its primary efforts on getting the railroad re-opened as a mode of commercial transportation, either by securing funding and/or reaching out to more businesses – both existing and future – to consider utilizing the line.