ELLICOTTVILLE — The Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency’s board of directors voted Wednesday to not participate financially in a study for a proposed passenger train excursion service between Buffalo and Jamestown.

The proposal to use a railroad corridor in Erie, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, would utilize about 25 miles of IDA-owned track between Gowanda and Conewango Valley, plus new track to Waterboro.

The proposal was praised by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in her regional State of the State Address in Gowanda last week.

To open the New York & Lake Erie Railroad line from Conewango Valley to Waterboro on the east-west Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority tracks would require a new switch, rail and ties. That part of the line has been closed for decades.

IDA board member Joseph Snyder said there are trees growing out of the rail line between Conewango and Waterboro, meaning it would need to be rebuilt.

The train proposal is designed to give communities along the rail corridor an economic boost. It has been endorsed by several communities in Cattaraugus and Erie counties, as well as the city of Jamestown.

Members of the IDA board didn’t think much of the idea, however, voting down a proposed $5,000 donation to a study by Stone Consulting of Erie, Pa. Jamestown is paying for half of the $60,000 study, which would include a marketing plan and revenue analysis.

“We were asked to donate $5,000 for the study,” said Corey Wiktor, IDA executive director.

As owner of the Cattaraugus County track, the IDA was asked to share in the partnership.

Robert O. Dingman, president of the New York & Lake Erie Railroad, which operates the rail line for the IDA, had already promised $5,000 for the study, Wiktor said.

“I don’t support it,” Snyder said. “It’s just a ploy to get grant money.”

The project “is not feasible,” he added.

The IDA has owned the rail line for more than 30 years. At one time it serviced more industries. The Cattaraugus spur remains closed due to a washout.

The track once stretched from Salamanca to Gowanda, but the track was torn up between Salamanca and Cattaraugus and became the Pat McGee Trail.

Wiktor said a third-party study is often needed to seek state and federal funding. That is the case here, he said.

Snyder and others have raised questions about the IDA’s liability in the event of an accident involving a passenger train.

Wiktor said the IDA has a $5 million liability insurance policy on the rail line. Dingman’s company runs passenger trains infrequently from the Gowanda depot.

The proposed excursions would be tied to events to boost tourism in communities along the corridor, such as South Dayton has done in the past.

Wiktor said several counties across the state are involved in operating short line railroads — including passenger service.

Before the discussion was over, IDA board members’ talk turned to questioning whether the IDA should continue owning the railroad.

“Do we just get rid of the railroad?” one board member asked.

“Maybe the county wants it back,” Wiktor replied.

Contacted later by the Times Herald, Dingman said he was surprised the board had not agreed to the donation, noting he had made a similar donation to help fund the study.

“I hope they will reconsider,” he said.

Jamestown recently spent millions to redevelop its downtown train station but can’t get passenger trains there on mainline tracks.

Erie County owns the South Buffalo Railway that passes from Buffalo through Hamburg, Eden and North Collins to Gowanda where the NY&LE Railroad begins.

If the NY&LE Railroad were completed all the way to Waterboro on the east-west line running from Hornell to Jamestown, it would need an agreement with Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority and Norfolk Southern. The cost of building a mile of railroad is estimated at $1 million.

The need to get trains to Jamestown spurred the proposal to use the Buffalo to Jamestown rail corridor through Gowanda. Sponsors are also talking about extending the rail excursion service through Buffalo to Niagara Falls.

Dingman said the NY&LE Railroad did not receive a $2.4 million New York State Department of Transportation infrastructure grant he had applied for in the round of grants announced Wednesday.

That grant would replace two-thirds of the ties from Cherry Creek to Conewango and smooth the rail, allowing trains to run faster, according to Dingman.

“We’ve got two grants we’re working on this construction season,” Dingman pointed out.

There is another round of rail infrastructure projects expected later this year.

Dingman did not estimate the cost of the last few miles between Conewango Valley and Waterboro, which has not been used in decades