Catskill Mountain Railroad lease extended
The Catskill Mountain Railroad’s lease to run trains along a portion of the rail line owned by Ulster County is extended.
KINGSTON, N.Y. » The Catskill Mountain Railroad will keep its trains rolling in the upcoming year.
Ulster County lawmakers on Tuesday, Dec. 15, unanimously and without discussion granted the once- controversial tourist train operator a oneyear extension to its lease to run trains along a portion of the county- owned rail line. The county owns the entire former U&D rail corridor from Kingston to the Ulster County-Delaware County line.
The company’s current five-year lease expires on Thursday, Dec. 31.
Ulster County Deputy Executive John Milgrim said the extension will give the Catskill Mountain Railroad some breathing room as it continues to reshape its operation in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In 2016, the Catskill Mountain Railroad was awarded a five-year lease to operate a tourist train on a roughly f ive- mile stretch of track between the Kingston Plaza in the city of Kingston and state Route 28A in the town of Ulster. The Catskill Mountain Railroad was the only company to submit a proposal for operations on that stretch of track.
Under the terms of the lease agreement with the county, the Catskill Mountain Railroad is required to make t wo $ 25,000 payments annually to the county to run its tourist trains.
Milgrim said despite the economic shutdown and having to “pivot” its operations to adhere to socialdistancing requirements, the railroad was able to make both its rent payments for this year and is in compliance with all other provisions of the lease.
“Clearly they’ve been struggling with trying to figure out ways to operate,” Milgrim aid. “They just want to have some assurance moving forward and we’re all trying to understanding what the pandemic and the guidelines will bring over the next several months.”
Milgrim said the new one-year deal is essentially the same as the current lease agreement, with only minor tweaking to the insurance provisions. The most significant change, he said, is a provision that gives the county the ability to reduce the second payment if the pandemic and ongoing restrictions continue to last into the coming year.
He said whether the railroad is given a second longterm lease will be a matter of discussion for the Legislature.
The county agreed to lease the eastern portion
of the railroad tracks to the Catskill Mountain Railroad in 2016 following a conten
tious years long legal battle that resulted in a brief hiatus in train operations after the expiration of a 25year lease the railroad held for the entire 32-mile track.