Central New York Railroad on slow track

By TOM KANE

RIVER VALLEY — “We haven’t made a whole lot of progress in the six months we’ve been in operation,” said Walter G. Rich. “It takes time to get a business to switch from one carrier to another.”

Rich is president and CEO of the Central New York Railroad (CNYRR), which has leased the rail line along the Delaware River between Port Jervis and Binghamton, NY.

“However, we are meeting expectations and will be spending $1.5 million this fall on rehabilitation of tracks and other infrastructure,” Rich said.

The line was to be abandoned by Norfolk Southern Railroad, one of America’s largest railroad companies, which views the 125-mile line as a low priority.

Rich, who specializes in taking over endangered railroads, is confident that the short-line railroad can survive if there is an intense campaign to find users.

“Recently, the Norboard Company of Deposit, a producer of fiber board, has returned to using our railroad,” Rich said. Rich is also focusing a great deal of effort on the bluestone industry in the Upper Delaware Valley.

One of Rich’s first steps in taking over the railway was to get a reduction of the railroad’s property taxes at a faster rate than the abatement schedule authorized by the state’s Railroad Ceiling Law, which was passed in order to correct the state’s over-taxation of the property in the past.

In the counties of Sullivan, Broome and Delaware, county and local governments agreed to the tax abatement to aid in rebuilding the rail line.

In Sullivan County, the railroad is used by Narrowsburg Feed Company and Cochecton Mills. The two companies employ over 70 workers.

“I know they’ve been working hard to get more businesses,” said Dennis Nearing, co-owner of Cochecton Mills. “If they don’t succeed, it will be a big expense for us to truck things from the Midwest. We’d have to pass the cost on to the farmers who are hurting as it is.”

Rich said, “One of the circumstances that has been a surprising boon to us is the increase of overhead business.” Overhead refers to the periodic use of a railroad company’s line by outside carriers who need to meet the increasing demands of the freight business.

“Norfolk Southern and CSX are experiencing increased traffic during July and August and have been throwing business our way,” Rich said.

“Short line operators, like Central New York, are more willing and able to take over lines that the bigger railroads don’t want,” said Eugene Blabey, chairman and CEO of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad. “For this reason, the short-line operators are more successful at saving railroads.”

Blabey has no direct interest in CNYRR but uses its tracks on occasion, he said.