Sen. Schumer promotes tax credit extension at New York short-line summit

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) yesterday met with New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) President Nathan Fenno and several local officials at the railroad's Cooperstown, N.Y., headquarters to discuss and promote the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act, which would extend the short-line tax credit through 2016.

Schumer is pushing for passage of the bill to restore and extend the Section 45G tax credit — which expired on Dec. 31 — to help short lines improve more of their infrastructure. Originally enacted in January 2005, the Section 45G provision enables regionals and short lines to claim a tax credit of 50 cents for every dollar spent on infrastructure improvements, up to a cap of $3,500 per mile of owned or leased track.

Over the years, NYSW has used about $7.5 million in tax credits to help fund $15 million worth of track upgrades "that would’ve been difficult to undertake without the presence of the short-line tax credit," Schumer said in a press release. The work included tie replacements, track surfacing and other general maintenance improvements. NYSW would undertake an additional $2.5 million to $3 million worth of track maintenance work and upgrades over the next two years if the tax credit is extended, Schumer said.

NYSW is a crucial shipping line that's integral to the transportation of grains, especially soybeans, from Upstate New York grain producers to the Port of New York and New Jersey, where dealers export the grains all over the world, he said. The short line moves about 1,500 cars of grain exports to the port annually. 

"With this tax credit, we can expand the number of businesses [NYSW] serves and keep the rail in tip-top shape," said Schumer. "That’s why I’m fighting to extend the expiring federal tax credit for short-line railroads that will help NYSW maintain and upgrade their tracks."