(erielack) Meadville Line news!

[Kevin DeGroff <"kdegroff_@_starpower.net">]

The following article appeared in the 6/7 edition of the Hornell Evening Tribune:

A legislative package has been assembled to rescue the neglected Southern Tier Extension
line that runs from Jamestown to Hornell, state Sen. Pat  McGee announced Tuesday.

McGee, R-Franklinville, and Assemblyman Bill Parment, D-Jamestown, announced creation of
not only legislation that would create a Southern Tier Railroad Authority, but also $1.1
million in multi-modal funding to pay for repairs on the line, part of which have
deteriorated badly due to non-use and lack of maintenance.

Gov. George Pataki, who initially expressed opposition to creation of an authority,
supports this bipartisan measure, according to McGee spokesman John Gallagher.

The line is now owned by Norfolk Southern, which acquired it a year ago from Conrail.
Norfolk Southern recently extended, for another year, its agreement with the state to keep
the line functioning.

The proposed legislation would create a Railroad Authority that would take ownership of
the 146-mile Extension, repair it, and provide tax breaks. The Authority would be run by a
14-member board comprised of representatives of the four counties it crosses - Steuben,
Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua - and a non-voting representative of the Seneca
Nation.

The tax-exempt Authority could borrow money; counties, municipalities and school districts
where the Extension runs, as well as the state, would not be liable for any of the bonds
or financial obligations incurred by the Authority.

The Authority then could choose to have Norfolk Southern provide rail service along the
line, or have a short-line operator like the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville, which has
expressed interest, or a combination of the two.

"The devil is in the details," NS spokesman Rudy Husband said today. "We would look to
preserve rail service on the Southern Tier Extension if it made economic sense to do so.
The taxes we pay on that line is an incredible burden that offsets any revenue that could
be potentially generated. . . . If the state is truly interested in preserving rail
service in that area, then tax relief is a must."

Communities that now receive taxes from Norfolk Southern on the Extension may protest at
any tax break that cuts their revenue, but Steuben County Legislative Chairman Stoner
Horey said it is preferable to the alternative. "If the railroad is pulled up, then they
get no tax revenues at all," said Horey, R-Canisteo.

The McGee-Parment measure was introduced Tuesday into both houses of the state
Legislature. The boards of legislatures in the four counties also must pass requests for
home-rule measures allowing creation of the Authority; Allegany County lawmakers will be
asked today to approve such a request, while Steuben legislators will meet at noon
Thursday.

The Authority bill is racing a deadline: The state Legislature session will end next week,
but McGee Tuesday said she is confident the measure can get out of committee and onto the
floor of both houses before then.



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