NORWICH – The out-of-service railroad track through Chenango County was heavily damaged by flooding in 2006 and continues to deteriorate, but it is not without potential, according to a study conducted by a Pennsylvania-based transportation consulting firm.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Development Chenango Executive Director Maureen Carpenter, as she addressed a room full of county leaders Friday morning.

In 2008, the development agency commissioned TranSystems / Stone Consulting to study the portion of New York Susquehanna & Western railroad’s Utica Line, which stretches through 42 miles of Chenango County. The study was funded in part by the Chenango County Board of Supervisors and the Chenango County Industrial Development Agency.

The firm’s operations director, Randy Gustafson, presented the group’s findings to stakeholders at two meetings last week.

According to Gustafson, they were specifically asked to assess the current condition of the track and determine the potential for redeveloping rail service along the line as well as identify possible funding sources and business opportunities. The full results of the study fill more than 150 pages.

The consultant first addressed the history of the rail corridor, from its construction in 1869, through its acquisition by NYS&W in 1985 to the flooding in 2006 which put it out of service.