PRINTER'S NO. 31
No. 7 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY DOMBROWSKI, BOWSER, CAPPABIANCA, ALDERETTE,
D. R. WRIGHT, PRATT, FEE, LESCOVITZ, LEVI, COLAFELLA, MERRY,
VAN HORNE, LAUGHLIN, BURD, PETERSON, STEIGHNER, BOYES,
GRUITZA AND SWIFT, JANUARY 25, 1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, JANUARY 26, 1983
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging Conrail to retain certain trackage and freight service
2 relating to the Port of Erie.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby resolves as follows:
5 WHEREAS, Conrail's Erie to Corry railroad line was once a
6 main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and is a portion of the
7 only rail route diagonally across the State of Pennsylvania
8 linking Erie with the coal fields of central Pennsylvania and
9 the Port of Philadelphia with tremendous potential offering
10 fuel-efficient, land-conserving and low-pollution alternatives
11 for future traffic growth; and
12 WHEREAS, On November 20, 1981, Conrail filed to abandon this
13 line which was automatically approved by the Interstate Commerce
14 Commission on March 15, 1982 under section 1156 of the Northeast
15 Rail Service act of 1981, which does not require any hearing or
16 investigation; and
17 WHEREAS, Effective January 8, 1983, Conrail Bulletin Order 2-
1 396 stated the line between Milepost 2.9 and Milepost 24 is out
2 of service; and
3 WHEREAS, On October 12, 1982, New York State Commissioner of
4 Transportation William C. Hennessy and Conrail Chairman L.
5 Stanley Crane signed a multi-year agreement that will ensure
6 freight service across New York's Southern Tier main line
7 formerly operated by the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad; therefore be
8 it
9 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
10 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby urges Conrail to keep the
11 Erie-Corry trackage and other sections of the Erie-Emporium line
12 in place for the future needs of the Port of Erie and future
13 industrial development in Pennsylvania; and be it further
14 RESOLVED, That the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
15 should obtain an agreement with Conrail for the continuance of
16 the Erie-Lackawanna main line in Pennsylvania similar to the
17 agreement obtained by New York State; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That one thru freight be routed daily from Erie via
19 Corry, Pennsylvania thru to eastern New York using the Erie-
20 Lackawanna line which would save terminal time over the present
21 Buffalo, New York routing plus strengthen Pennsylvania railroad
22 employment; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
24 the President of the United States; the United States Secretary
25 of Transportation; the President of Conrail; the Pennsylvania
26 Secretary of Transportation; the Public Utility Commission and
27 to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
28 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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