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New York state recently created a five-year, $100 million funding program to help railroads and transit agencies improve infrastructure and add capacity.

To be administered by the New York Department of Transportation (NYDOT) and be funded through a five-year, $17.9 billion capital program, the Rail Freight and Passenger Assistance Program will provide about $20 million annually through 2010. The state already has awarded 19 railroads a total of $40 million for fiscal years 2005 and 2006.

NYDOT awarded $8.6 million to Amtrak to help subsidize its Adirondack service between Rensselaer and Montreal; $5.2 million to MTA Metro-North Railroad to upgrade a signal system between Poughkeepsie and New York City; $4 million to CSX Transportation to expand freight capacity on its River Line between Selkirk and the Port of New York and New Jersey terminals in Staten Island and northern New Jersey; $3.5 million to Norfolk Southern Railway to fund preliminary engineering to replace the Portage Bridge on the Class I’s Southern Tier line; and $2.5 million to Canadian Pacific Railway to expand capacity between Albany and Montreal.

The state also is providing a total of $16.2 million to 15 short lines to rehabilitate track and crossings, and build facilities, including $1.5 million each to the Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern; New York and Ogdensburg; and Rochester Southern railroads. Other small roads receiving funds include Finger Lakes Railroad ($1.4 million); Owego and Harford Railroad ($1.25 million); and Arcade and Attica, Falls Road, and Depew, Lancaster and Western railroads ($1.2 million each).

Eligible railroads can apply for the remaining $60 million during the final three years of the program.