Smaller railroads seek Esty’s help

THOMASTON » Members of Connecticut’s railroad industry want U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty to push for establishing a permanent tax credit that helps companies pay for rail and bridge replacement.

Esty, D-5, met with about half dozen industry officials Monday at Railroad Museum of New England and the so-called Short Line Tax Credit was a prominent topic of discussion.

The tax credit — which allows smaller railroads to claim a 50-percent tax credit for every dollar invested, up to a cap equivalent to $3,500 per mile of track — was enacted in 2005. Congress let the tax credit expire at the end of last year and officials of Connecticut’s freight railroads are hoping that Esty, who serves on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, can use her influence to get the incentive restored.

Restoring the tax credit would allow small railroad operators to have a level of certainty when planning capital projects, said Howard Pincus, president of the Naugatuck Railroad Co.

“The ability to plan things is critical,” Pincus said. “We are looking at bridges that need to be redecked. That can get pretty expensive pretty fast.”

It costs $800,000 per mile to replace old rails with new ones, said Jerry Vest, senior vice president of Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, which is headquartered in Darien.

The company operates three short line railroad in Connecticut and has 536 miles of track in the state. The Genesee & Wyoming operates the Connecticut Southern, the New England Central and the Providence & Worcester railroads.

Vest praised Esty for meeting with state railroad industry leaders.

“It’s wonderful that she’s here to listen to our concerns,” he said.

Esty said helping smaller railroads thrive is critical to Connecticut’s economy.

“The larger railroads are not interested in this market,” she said.

Cynthia Scarano, vice president of Massachusetts-based Pan Am Railways, said keeping smaller railroads in business is important, even for those companies that do use them.

“It helps keep transportation costs down,” Scarano said. “It gives them (companies that need goods transported) options.”

Pan Am Railways serves customers in six Naugatuck Valley community as well as in New Haven, North Haven and Wallingford.

Call Luther Turmelle at 203-680-9388.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5, listens to participants at a roundtable discussion of freight railroad service in Connecticut at the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston.