(The following story by James Hawver appeared on the Democrat and Chronicle website on February 26.)
LYONS, N.Y. — Officials of two railroad companies have agreed to meet with a group of Wayne County leaders, business owners and residents that has been trying for nearly two decades to bring a passenger train station to Lyons.
An Amtrak stop for the area was first sought in 1990 but has been held up by a series of disagreements between local officials and CSX, which owns the tracks.
CSX chief executive Michael Ward has agreed that representatives of his company will meet with Amtrak and local officials, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Monday.
“I’m thrilled that there’s this kind of momentum building again,” said Wayne County Planning Director Sharon Lilla.
In 2001, Amtrak and CSX announced a temporary agreement, but CSX has balked at what it sees as safety and liability issues with the station design.
Wayne County received a $1 million grant from the state for the project in 2002, but a design for a single-platform station was rejected in 2004 by CSX, which required that the station be on its main line, not an adjacent secondary track. That move required the addition of three elevator-equipped pedestrian overpasses and two platforms, inflating the total cost of the project to between $4 million and $7 million.
The meeting about the station has not been scheduled yet, but it probably will occur within the next couple of months, said Alexander Detrick, a spokesman for Schumer.
A spokesman for CSX could not be reached for comment.
Supporters of an Amtrak station have claimed that it would be a boon to the area’s economy, giving residents a cheaper and more convenient way of getting to and from the Finger Lakes region. The 85-mile stretch between Rochester and Syracuse is the longest without a stop in the state.
“A train station is the best choice for us,” Lilla said. “It’s not like we’re going to be able to attract a regional or international airport.”