(rshsdepot) Binghamton, NY

[jdent1_@_optonline.net]

From the NYS&W list...
 
Passenger train terminal in works
Company plans to convert D&H freight house
BY RYAN DEUEL
Press & Sun-Bulletin
November 20, 2003

BINGHAMTON - Passenger rail service in Binghamton has moved one step closer
to a reality.

A private railroad company, with help from funds channeled through the state
Department of Transportation, recently purchased the Delaware and Hudson
freight house on Chenango and Eldredge streets, with plans to convert the
facility into a passenger railroad terminal.

Nathan Fenno, vice president of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad
in Cooperstown, said the station will serve as valuable link for freight and
passengers traveling to Syracuse and eventually south to Scranton and New
York City.

It's a result of an effort between the state and NYS&W to upgrade tracks
between Binghamton and Syracuse to provide improved freight service.

DOT spokesman Peter Graves said the railroad company received $4 million
through the passenger and freight rail program to upgrade the existing
tracks between Binghamton and Syracuse. Part of those funds helped NYS&W
purchase the Delaware and Hudson freight house in October for $210,000 from
Bradco Supply Corp.

In terms of passenger service, it's simply an added bonus, said state Sen.
Thomas W. Libous, R-Binghamton, who has spearheaded the project.

"The public needs to understand that this is about better freight service
and economic development to Binghamton," he said. "It just makes sense to
tack on passenger service."

Graves underscored the importance of improved freight service and how it
will affect economic development in Greater Binghamton.

"Right now, the line is dilapidated, which means it's inefficient for
transporting freight because the trains can't go very fast," Graves said.
"The key to freight service is speed. And if a hauler knows he can get his
product to Syracuse quickly and possibly more cost effectively, than it
becomes another viable service."

Hauling freight via rail also may reduce interstate truck traffic and be
more environmentally friendly by cutting down on emissions, Graves said.

Fenno said he expects passenger excursions between Binghamton and Syracuse
to begin sometime next year, but he doesn't see regularly scheduled service
unless more state funding comes through.

"This is a public policy issue," he said. "But we want to be sure that if
the state gives us the go-ahead, we'll have the infrastructure in place."

After the upgrades, the trip is expected to take between 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

NYS&W operates the Syracuse OnTrack train -- which runs from the Syracuse
University Carrier Dome to the Carousel Mall -- and owns train stations in
Cortland, Marathon and Utica.

In a completely separate series of projects, Binghamton eventually could
link to New York City through Scranton, Pa., and Hoboken, N.J.

Unlike the line between Binghamton and Syracuse, however, the line to
Hoboken is owned by a pastiche of private and public companies, including
Canadian Pacific, Lackawanna County Rail Authority and New Jersey Transit.

New Jersey Transit is seeking $200 million in funding through the Federal
Transit Authority to complete the line to Pennsylvania by 2006.

Libous said making Binghamton a transportation hub is the ultimate goal.
Rail lines from Syracuse, Utica, Oneonta, Buffalo, Jamestown and Scranton,
Pa., already converge in the city.

"Binghamton sits at several crossroads," he said. "The new intermodal bus
terminal will be just a stone's throw away from the train station. Plus the
upgrade of 17 to I-86 -- all will greatly impact Binghamton's economic
development."

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