On a damp autumn Thursday afternoon, 28 passengers, most of them Cayuga County Convention and Visitors Bureau board members, were able to view Auburn, Aurelius and Cayuga Lake on a festively decorated train car which traveled from Auburn to the Village of Cayuga.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
From left, Judy Salone, an event coordinator with the Finger Lakes Railway Corp., speaks with Bonnie Scoville, Jackie Komanecky and Barbara Foster during a ride aboard the train Thursday afternoon. Local business owners and community leaders were invited for a ride aboard the train to encourage the promotion of railway tourism in the region.
From left, Judy Salone, an event coordinator with the Finger Lakes Railway Corp., speaks with Bonnie Scoville, Jackie Komanecky and Barbara Foster during a ride aboard the train Thursday afternoon. Local business owners and community leaders were invited for a ride aboard the train to encourage the promotion of railway tourism in the region.
The group tasted local wines and discussed tourism on the five-car Finger Lakes Scenic Railway train as the fall foliage provided an appropriate backdrop for the day's topic: tourism in Cayuga County.
“Tourism is one of the main reasons people come to this area,” said State Assemblyman Gary Finch. “It's a beautiful part of the state, and we are doing everything we can to promote it.”
Thursday's train ride was in part an educational trip for board members, said Meg Vanek, executive director of the Cayuga County Office of Tourism. The trip's other purpose was to recognize Finch's grant of $2,500 to the Office of Tourism. The money was left over from the 2007-2008 budget, said Finch. The grant will be used for Canadian promotional efforts in Cayuga County, said Vanek.
“(The grant) is beneficial to everyone in Cayuga County,” said Dan Schuster, a Cayuga County legislator. “We need to draw as many tourists here as possible ... this area has a lot of potential for growth.”
Schuster noted the importance of getting tourists from New York City and other areas within driving distance to spend their vacation money here. “We have a large population to draw from,” he said.
Currently, the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway ships freight and also puts on passenger tours. The company owns more than 140 miles of track, and trains can travel as far west as Victor and as far south as Watkins Glen, said Judy Salone, event coordinator for the railway.
According to the Thompson Economic Recovery Grants Center, TIGER grants, or Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants, are available through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
They are intended for “state, local, tribal and territorial government entities,” and can be used for a number of transportation projects, including “passenger and freight rail infrastructure projects.”
Finch said the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway has applied for a TIGER grant, which would, if awarded, allow it to spend nearly $17 million to improve the existing track and purchase more track.
Normally, the project awarded the grant must cost $20 million at a minimum, but in the case of the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway project, this stipulation may be waived, said Deb Najarro, manager of public relations and passenger services at the railway.
“There are a lot more opportunities we need to capitalize on,” said Najarro. “We need to be bringing people into the region and getting them on a train.”
Tourists have come from as far away as Ohio and New York City to take the fall foliage rides offered by the railway, said Salone. The train ridden Thursday has a capacity of 250 passengers, she said. Its top speed that day was 25 mph.
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net.
“Tourism is one of the main reasons people come to this area,” said State Assemblyman Gary Finch. “It's a beautiful part of the state, and we are doing everything we can to promote it.”
Thursday's train ride was in part an educational trip for board members, said Meg Vanek, executive director of the Cayuga County Office of Tourism. The trip's other purpose was to recognize Finch's grant of $2,500 to the Office of Tourism. The money was left over from the 2007-2008 budget, said Finch. The grant will be used for Canadian promotional efforts in Cayuga County, said Vanek.
“(The grant) is beneficial to everyone in Cayuga County,” said Dan Schuster, a Cayuga County legislator. “We need to draw as many tourists here as possible ... this area has a lot of potential for growth.”
Schuster noted the importance of getting tourists from New York City and other areas within driving distance to spend their vacation money here. “We have a large population to draw from,” he said.
Currently, the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway ships freight and also puts on passenger tours. The company owns more than 140 miles of track, and trains can travel as far west as Victor and as far south as Watkins Glen, said Judy Salone, event coordinator for the railway.
According to the Thompson Economic Recovery Grants Center, TIGER grants, or Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants, are available through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
They are intended for “state, local, tribal and territorial government entities,” and can be used for a number of transportation projects, including “passenger and freight rail infrastructure projects.”
Finch said the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway has applied for a TIGER grant, which would, if awarded, allow it to spend nearly $17 million to improve the existing track and purchase more track.
Normally, the project awarded the grant must cost $20 million at a minimum, but in the case of the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway project, this stipulation may be waived, said Deb Najarro, manager of public relations and passenger services at the railway.
“There are a lot more opportunities we need to capitalize on,” said Najarro. “We need to be bringing people into the region and getting them on a train.”
Tourists have come from as far away as Ohio and New York City to take the fall foliage rides offered by the railway, said Salone. The train ridden Thursday has a capacity of 250 passengers, she said. Its top speed that day was 25 mph.
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net.
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horseradish wrote on Oct 2, 2009 12:57 PM:
It would be great if the train would allow people to go from Roch to Geneva to Auburn to Syracuse and back. It would do alot more good than this. "