NORWICH – It may not be much longer before freight trains rattle the tracks that span Chenango County once again. The Chenango County Industrial Development Agency announced Wednesday that it has been approved $4.7 million for the revitalization of the damaged Utica Main Line rail system that runs 45.5 miles through the county, from the southern part of Greene to Earlville.

The grant comes by way of the Federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), an agency that has closely worked with the CCIDA for funding for the restoration project since an application was submitted by the CCIDA last fall. Secured funding from the EDA represents 80 percent of the $5.897 million dollar project to repair the lines, according to a press release from the CCIDA. Remaining costs will be covered by a $770,422 grant awarded to the agency by the New York Department of Transportation in 2011.

Required funding in the amount of $408,070 will be pitched in by local agencies, including the Development Chenango Corporation, the CCIDA, Chenango County government, and the New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad (NYS&W), which owns and operates the Utica Main Line that connects the cities of Utica and Binghamton.

Said CCIDA Executive Director Steve Craig, “We are excited about this opportunity to reestablish freight rail service to the main population centers of Chenango County after an absence of service for nearly seven years. County of Chenango IDA will be working with local partners, New York Susquehanna & Western Railway, NYS DOT, and our rail consultants in the coming days and weeks to move this project forward. We are eager to put this vital piece of infrastructure to work strengthening the economy of Chenango County.”

The Utica Main Line was heavily damaged in the 2006 flooding, and more so after Tropical Storm Lee brought additional flooding in 2011. Jennifer Tavares, director of Development Chenango (DCC), explained that the county was eligible to apply for funding through the EDA under these circumstances.

“This has obviously been a project we have been working on a long time and a lot of effort has gone in from us and from other supportive agencies,” she said. “Our entire economic development team, and particularly Rebecca Sands, who coordinated the Federal EDA application, invested significant time in this project over the last several years and we are extremely pleased with the outcome.”