Voorheesville drops lawsuit after NS facility ruling

The New York village of Voorheesville drops lawsuit claims against Norfolk Southern after a December court decision that let the railroad move ahead with plans for an NS crew-change facility, as reported by Trains.com.

The Altamont Enterprise says the village’s attorney notified Judge Paul Evangelista in a Dec. 30 letter that Voorheesville was voluntarily dismissing the remainder of its case. The dismissal was without prejudice, meaning the village could still refile.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Voorheesville drops lawsuit following preliminary injunction

U.S. District Court Judge Brenda K. Sannes, in the Northern District of New York, granted a preliminary injunction on Dec. 3 that allowed work on the crew-change site to proceed, as described in a Dec. 16 update from Trains.com. The facility is tied to Norfolk Southern’s operating plan to use trackage rights on CSX to reach Ayer, Mass. rather than its own route through the Hoosac Tunnel, which cannot accommodate double-stack container traffic.

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“It’s the railroad and we knew it was going to be a long shot,” Voorheesville Mayor Rich Straut told the Enterprise after the ruling.

Local concerns over blocked crossings and zoning ordinances

Before the court decision, Voorheesville had blocked construction of the crew-change facility, citing worries about blocked crossings and arguing the project violated local zoning ordinances. Norfolk Southern sued, saying the village’s actions were preempted by federal law, and the community countersued, according to the U.S. District Court docket listing.

What remained in the case?

The remaining portions of the village’s suit involved the sale of an acre of land to NS and concerns about a settlement between Voorheesville, Norfolk Southern, and CSX regarding community impacts from rail traffic.

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