Thank you for your email and your interest in railroads in western New York.
Let me respond to some of the points you raise in your email. Perhaps I can correct some of your misunderstandings so as to remove some of the confusion you refer to in the first sentence of your email, and so as to help you understand what we are trying to do with the Southern Tier Extension Line.
First of all, the “Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority,” which we call the “Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority,” or STERA, for short, owns the Southern Tier Extension line, which runs from Corry PA through Jamestown, Salamanca, Olean, Cuba, Friendship, Wellsville, Alfred Station, Almond out to Hornell NY. That is, STERA owns the real estate, including the rails, for a period of 10 years from the spring of 2001, whereupon ownership reverts back to Norfolk Southern. STERA has executed a leaseback agreement with Norfolk Southern, allowing Norfolk Southern to operate trains on the line during that 10 year period. During the 10 year period when STERA owns the line. no real estate property taxes are paid by Norfolk Southern, and STERA itself also is exempt from these taxes as a public authority. In the last several years of the 10 year agreement, Norfolk Southern will pay an escalating payment in lieu of taxes to STERA. In 2001, Norfolk Southern executed a sub-lease arrangement with the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company (employer of Dan Eagan), under which WNYP can operate freight trains on the line for 30 years, with Norfolk Southern retaining the right to operate trains on the line.
STERA itself is not an operating railroad company. Nor are the Counties (see: your suggestion that the counties lease and run Metro-North passenger trains). Nor is Southern Tier West.
Southern Tier West, which is a short form of our formal name, which is Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board, is not in title to any railr