(The following story by Brian Amaral appeared on the Watertown Daily Times website on August 26, 2010.)
OGDENSBURG, N.Y. — Confusion reigned at the Port of Ogdensburg Wednesday when a CSX official told a group of industry executives and officials that his company was not cutting service in the north country.
“The single message that I can say is that for the foreseeable future, there is no plan on cutting back,” said Leonard M. Kellermann, the director for regional and short line development for the company.
That elicited surprise from the crowd. The company has proposed reducing service on the so-called Massena line, which runs from Syracuse to Huntingdon, Quebec, to two or three days a week. The proposal, which the company says would cost 14 jobs, must be approved by the federal Surface Transportation Board.
“The application in front of the Surface Transportation Board said that surface would be cut, yet we’re faced with a statement that they’re not reducing service,” said Wade A. Davis, executive director of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority. “The application did not fundamentally square with what he said.”
Jason A. Clark, the economic development director for the Business Development Corporation for Greater Massena, was also confused about what Mr. Kellermann said.
“It’s just perplexing,” Mr. Clark said.
In an interview, Mr. Kellermann said the company was indeed proposing a reduction in service, but with business hurting, it was a move to match demand.
“We want our service to be commensurate with what our customers need,” Mr. Kellermann said.
He added that customers would not be harmed by a reduction in service.
“That’s an interesting claim,” Mr. Clark said. “Anytime you cut the number of trips, you’re going to see a degradation in service. Businesses that rely on rail are going to have to increase their inventories because there are fewer trips per week.”
Officials across the north country have universally denounced the proposal to cut service to the region.
Port Commerce Day is an event that brings together companies and officials to swap business cards and chat about their work. In the parking lot outside the event, license plates on cars ranged from Ontario to Vermont to Virginia. Representatives from alternative energy companies, grain bargers, railway outfits and municipalities and public authorities crowded in a vast, warehouse-like building.
The economic outlook among executives was guardedly positive. Officials said the worst of times, and the catastrophe that was 2009, are in the past.
CSX, Mr. Kellermann said, was on the right track. Overall business is up 8 to 10 percent, he said.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” he said.