TUPPER LAKE -- Train funding for the Adirondack Scenic Railroad line to Tupper Lake has not disappeared from the state Department of Transportation Rail Freight Assistance Program.
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A list of projects released by DOT Commissioner Astrid C. Glynn this week did not include $5 million to extend railroad tracks from Saranac Lake to Tupper Lake, monies that had been promised by former Gov. George Pataki shortly before he left office in 2006.
The money was supposed to be released in installments starting in 2008 with $2.5 million, said Garry Douglas, president and CEO of the Plattsburgh/North Country Chamber of Commerce.
Douglas helped form a coalition of area business interests by lobbying to extend the tourist railroad line from Saranac Lake all the way to Utica.
The spur to Tupper Lake at 26 miles is expected to cost $6.7 million.
"The project is not dead," Douglas said in a recent phone interview. "I was assured right up front by the governor's office nothing will be changed without due consideration."
The project went through a reevaluation phase when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer took office.
"We were certainly very pleased when we had the commitment from Gov. Pataki for $5 million," Douglas said. "We view it as a first step in bringing the entire line up to par. There was $2.5 million, the first installment, allocated in the 2008 budget and it's still there, it just hasn't been contracted."
It is not uncommon for funding to lay dormant until a project is fully developed.
"There's money held in reserve sometimes while projects are still pending," Douglas said.
"On the other hand, we haven't been assured it will proceed. The (Spitzer) administration wasn't sure the project had been through the proper review, and we've since been reassured the Tupper Lake railroad extension continues to be under review. We're expecting a series of meetings over the next couple of weeks hopefully to clarify what the pathway moving ahead will be."
Senator Betty Little (R-Queensbury) has been on the phone with DOT, spokesman Dan Mac Entee said.
"This week's list announced another round of funding from $100 million total. There's another bite at this apple. The senator has scheduled to sit down with DOT and review what steps to take to secure the necessary funding."
DOT spokesman Charles Carrier said the remaining $40 million in DOT railroad money would be allocated over the next two years.
"Adirondack Scenic Railroad is encouraged to apply for grant funding, noting we have established new criteria," he said.
Among the criteria are concerns for economic-development stimulus and improvement of railway service.
"Clearly economic development and tourism is part of that," Carrier said.
Applications for the next round become available mid-May.
The new criteria are based on eight measures:
Readiness of a project to be implemented in the fiscal year it is funded;
Economic development and sustainability, the ability to grow and retain business;
Environmental impacts;
Energy savings and emission reductions as measured by removing heavy truck traffic from state highways;
Reduction in highway-maintenance expenses;
Sustainability of the existing rail-infrastructure network; and
Safety and security.
Adirondack Scenic Railroad plans to move their trains up the line from Thendara to Lake Placid for the summer tourist season in about two weeks.
Of the 114-mile historic route, 42 miles are in use on either end with the balance in need of restoration.
Extending through to Tupper Lake is considered key to connecting all three Tri-Lakes communities, Douglas said.
"That extension is really needed to bring more business onto the railroad line."
The Passenger and Rail Freight Assistance Program, adopted in 2005, provides for rail improvements at $20 million per year through 2010.
In 2005, 19 railroads were awarded $40 million.
kdedam@pressrepublican.com
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