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6/6/2003



Rail News: Rail Industry Trends

STB seeks New Yorkers' feedback on viaduct-abandonment case


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On July 24, Surface Transportation Board plans to conduct a public hearing in New York City to receive input on a case involving a Conrail elevated steel and concrete viaduct in lower Manhattan.


In 1992, board predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission approved city plans to abandon the "Highline" viaduct — despite opposition from Conrail — but local groups fought demolition of the structure, which was built in 1930 on West 30th Street.


Chelsea Property Owners, a group seeking to condemn and demolish the viaduct, filed a motion in August 2002 asking STB to determine that a draft settlement agreement meets a previously imposed requirement indemnifying Conrail for all demolition costs exceeding $7 million.


Friends of the Highline Inc. subsequently asked the board to reopen the 1992 abandonment proceeding on historical and environmental grounds.


Meanwhile, the city of New York has asked the board to issue a certificate of interim trail use (CITU) to enable the city to negotiate an agreement with Conrail to "rail bank" the Highline — or preserve the viaduct until rail might be restored — so the structure can be used as a trail.


But Conrail has asked STB to determine whether the agency has the authority to issue a CITU under the case's circumstances.


The board is accepting written comments on the case until July 17.