VOORHEESVILLE, N.Y. — The village of Voorheesville, thwarted in court in its effort to prevent a new Norfolk Southern crew-change facility, is now seeking to prevent the railroad from receiving future grants from the State of New York — as well as saying that the state should recover money already given to NS.
The Albany Times-Union reports that Voorheesville Mayor Richard Straut wrote Gov. Kathy Hochul in January, saying NS violated the terms of a $5 million state grant it received to rebuild an idled 15-mile line between Voorheesville and Delanson, N.Y., as part of its preparation to reroute intermodal traffic onto a CSX main line, allowing NS to run stack trains to Ayer, Mass. [See “Norfolk Southern launches …,” Trains.com, Jan. 14, 2026]. Its own route, via the Hoosac Tunnel, has insufficient clearance for double-stack trains.
Straut said in his letter that the contract for that grant required it to follow all state and local laws; the village contends the crew-change facility violates local zoning ordinances. In light of that, he wrote, the village is calling for NS to be added to the state’s “list of non-responsible, debarred or otherwise ineligible contractors — and precluded from applying for future grants” from the state. “The village also believes that the state should seek to claw back the grant funding it has already awarded to Norfolk Southern.”
The village had ordered NS to stop construction of the crew-change facility last fall because of the zoning dispute and concerns over traffic impacts of the facility. NS sued, citing federal preemption of local law in matters of interstate commerce. A federal judge found for the railroad [see “Judge’s ruling allows NS to proceed …,” Dec. 16, 2025]. The village, which had countersued, later dropped its legal action.
Norfolk Southern said in a statement to the newspaper that the village claims are “without merit,” and that it has “consistently acted in accordance with applicable law and regulatory requirements.” Hochul’s office did not respond to the Times-Union’s request for comment.
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