Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s quest to uproot government waste led him to a desolate, weed-stricken field along the edge of an industrial park in Glenville, where four idle trains are rusting away.
The trains were part of a high-speed rail program the state launched in 1998 to provide faster service between Albany and New York City. In 2004, the project failed after the state invested $70 million.
“I have repeatedly said that state government must be more efficient and must stop wasting taxpayer money,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “In this case, millions of dollars of taxpayer money were used to buy obsolete equipment, and hundreds of thousands more spent to store it.”
Since the project was dropped, 20 train cars have sat on the outskirts of the Glenville Business and Technology Park, which has cost the state $58,000 annually to store the “bullet trains.” Also, the state has paid $95,000 annually to store replacement parts for the trains in a warehouse at the far end of the Rotterdam Corporate Park.
Director of State Operations Howard Glaser announced on Thursday, May 31, the governor has directed the Office of General Services to oversee the sale and disposal of the trains and unused parts. Storage costs for the trains were discovered during an ongoing review of spending by state agencies.
“It’s time to put a stop to these shocking examples of waste and incompetence that have characterized the New York State government for a decade,” Glaser said during a press conference at the Glenville site. “We have zero tolerance for this kind of waste.”
Originally built in 1976, the four trains each consist of two locomotives, a café car and two passenger cars. The state had acquired seven train cars and two were upgraded and put into operation shortly during 2003. The $70 million the state spent was only part of the $185 million estimated project total.
Glaser said the project was “plagued with problems” and the engineering wasn’t properly done. He said the track work allowing the trains to run wasn’t done and the trains were incompatible with the rest of the Amtrak system. The air conditioning also didn’t work, and the trains required special parts.
Amtrak towed three trains with the most rehabilitation to Delaware, Glaser said, with the remaining four falling in the state’s hands.
“It is not really clear these (trains) can ever be used,” he said. “They are basically rusting hulks at this point.”
The state will work with a technology parts broker to assess the value of the trains and equipment, with a plan to sell the equipment to be determined by the end of the year.
Glaser isn’t expecting a windfall of funds though since the trains could be sold for scrap metal “at pennies on the dollar.”
The trains were sealed for several years, and inside the cars were in disarray while appearing stuck in time.
“We opened them up this morning, and I think this is the first time in 10 years that anybody has been on some of these trains as you will see from the time capsule inside,” Glaser said.
Water cups and cardboard boxes strewn across the floor, seat cushions ripped off, empty grocery bags from a local supermarket on a seat and a used “juicy apricots” scented candle on the counter of a café car.
There was also the sports section of a USA Today from Nov. 7, 2002, inside one train car and several October 2001 editions of Hudson Valley Magazine.
Building 533 in Rotterdam Corporate Park though held much more, with four-level shelving holding parts in unopened, wrapped boxes.
“There are 100 tractor trailer loads of parts made specifically for these trains sitting unused in a warehouse 10 minutes from here,” Glaser said.
Parts stored inside the warehouse include four large turbine engines, four medium turbine engines, one used medium turbine engine, eight train transmissions, eight new large electric generators, HVAC systems, dozens of new train wheels and brake rotors and hundreds of seat frames, cushions and upholstery.
Glaser said the previous train project was “well intentioned,” but it was “extremely poorly executed.”
The state currently has seven major rail initiatives, which include Harold Interlocking, Fourth Track at Rensselaer Station project, Albany Schenectady Double Track project, Schenectady Station, Ballston Spa Second Main Track, Buffalo Depew Station improvements and two signal projects on the Hudson Line.
The seven projects are being funded with $567.3 million from the federal government and $104.4 million from the state. The projects aim to improve, upgrade and modernize the state’s rail infrastructure.
“We’ll continue to fight waste and abuse and make sure taxpayers get their money’s worth — no more trains to nowhere,” Glaser said.