The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority is scheduled to vote on a motion to get information on the asset value and obligations of its rail line in order to seek proposals from companies, according to Tuesday’s meeting agenda.
Last month, authority Chairman Scott Linde proposed a “fair and open” Request for Proposals (RFP) process that would allow rail operators to buy or lease the authority’s Luzerne & Susquehanna Line, which has 60 miles of track in and around Pittston, Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Twp. Litigation between the authority and county involves ownership of the rail line.
The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad has offered $10 million to buy the authority’s rail line with a promise to also deliver passenger-rail service for excursion trips from Wilkes-Barre to Jim Thorpe.
In July, the county sued the authority and the Luzerne County Rail Corp., a subsidiary of the authority, for not paying back $3.3 million owed to the county from loans used to the purchase the rail line. The redevelopment authority bought the rail line after the Pocono Northeast Railroad abruptly discontinued service in 1996, and the Rail Corp. was created to hire a rail operator.
R.J. Corman Railroad Group LLC has operated the authority’s rail line for commercial freight since 2020. The Rail Corp. has postponed a plan to seek proposals for a new rail operator contract and extended the R.J. Corman contract through October 2026.
The county requested a court order to appoint a neutral third-party that would take over control of the rail line and to prevent the authority from selling or leasing the rail line. The county wants to “take possession of the Luzerne County Rail Corp.” and then “sell it and use the proceeds to repay the debt,” according to a May 15 county letter to the authority.
The authority and Rail Corp. claim the loan agreement with the county was never breached because no property was sold without county approval and the authority has until October 2026 to repay the county. A trial is scheduled to start in August.
County council — which appoints the five members of the redevelopment authority — authorized the litigation against the authority in May. Tuesday’s authority meeting is scheduled for noon at the authority office in West Pittston.