(erielack) Property Tax Relief - CP-Draw no more?

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

Sounds like the bottleneck at CP-Draw could soon become history!
Renamed CP-OurBridgeDoesn'tHaveToRaise or something.  This
appears to be clearing the way for a separate NS bridge, and an all-NS
route around the bottleneck at CP-Draw (and being hostage to CSX
dispatching to get across it) that is often cited as a reason for the lack
of willingness to build traffic on the Southern Tier line.



Relief for our railroads

Assemblyman Paul Tokasz plans to introduce a bill that would save
railroads as much as $35 million in property taxes across the state within
five years.


By CHET BRIDGER
Buffalo News Business Reporter
6/14/00


State leaders are considering a  comprehensive property tax cut for
railroads that could lead to millions of dollars being invested in rail yards
to improve and expand local service.

If negotiations between state leaders and railroad lobbyists are
successful, some state funding could also be allocated for a new rail
bridge across the Buffalo River and an expanded intermodal yard off
William Street.

Assemblyman Paul Tokasz, D-Cheektowaga, plans to introduce a
bill that would save railroads as much as $35 million in property
taxes across the state within five years. The bill, matching similar
legislation already introduced in the Senate, would provide state funding
to reimburse localities for the lost tax revenue.

State officials hope to use the tax cut to lure the major railroads to improve
their rail facilities, which could speed service to local industry.

"We've had discussions with Norfolk Southern, CSX and others about making
some investments in infrastructure improvements," Tokasz said.

Railroads have been reluctant to invest in new facilities in New York because
of the impact of the state's high tax rates.

Preliminary discussions involve CSX relocating a "transflow yard," which handles
plastic pellets, food products, chemicals and other bulk shipments, from William
Street to a 34-acre parcel off Tifft Street in South Buffalo.

Relocating the bulk business would give CSX room to expand its adjacent
intermodal terminal, which loads truck trailers and containers onto flat rail cars
and ships them to Chicago and points west. The intermodal shipments then shift
back to trucks for customer delivery.

CSX's intermodal business in Buffalo has been growing rapidly since December
through a new contract with APL Logistics, a global logistics company. APL
ships automobile parts, consumer goods and other products for its customers.

The local CSX intermodal yard also does a significant amount of business for
UPS, including shipping of consumer goods ordered on the Internet. The Buffalo
yard ships about 40 intermodal containers daily.

Local leaders believe an expanded intermodal yard could help lure spin-off
warehousing and distribution jobs to Buffalo. The eastern site near the
Buffalo-Cheektowaga border is an ideal location for intermodal growth because of
its proximity to the Frontier Yard, one of CSX's major Northeast classification
yards, said Ronald Coan, executive director of the Erie County Industrial
Development Agency.

"You need shipping yards to make an intermodal facility effective. We're very
much a natural for them," Coan said.

He said the railroads also need to lower the local rates, which remain significantly
higher than the national average, to encourage further shipping business here.

CSX officials confirmed they are considering relocating the bulk yard to South
Buffalo to expand the intermodal operation. The railroad executives declined to
comment on the status of their plans.

Tokasz hopes to get $3 million appropriated from the state transportation budget
to help CSX expand the intermodal facility.

The state budget also includes $10 million for rail improvements which could be
used for a new bridge across the Buffalo River. A new bridge could help relieve
congestion problems at the C-P drawbridge, which handles hundreds of rail cars
daily for CSX, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak and other railroads.

"The governor is fully behind the project and has identified it as a priority. This is
something he is going to advocate for," said Todd Alhart, a spokesman for
Pataki's budget office.

The state would still have to negotiate a funding split with Norfolk Southern, which
has the greatest interest in a new bridge, for the project estimated at between
$15 and $20 million.

"We do realize there would have to be a significant investment on the part of
Norfolk Southern, the definition of significant remains to be seen," said Norfolk
Southern spokesman Rudy Husband.

The bridge project is also contingent on ancillary issues involved with declaring
the little-used river not navigable, which would allow for a fixed bridge rather than
a more expensive drawbridge.

The entire rail improvement plan is contingent on the property tax cut moving
along in the closing days of the legislative session, according to several railroad
representatives.

The high property tax rates in New York left Conrail paying the majority of its
taxes in New York. CSX and Norfolk Southern took over Conrail's northeast
railroad franchise last year.

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the area's largest business group and a frequent
critic of local rail service, has been lobbying on behalf of the railroads in Albany.

"We think this is exactly what needs to be done, the property tax relief for
railroads," said Natalie Harder, director of regional development for the
Partnership.




 ------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the erielack photopage at http://el-list.railfan.net

------------------------------