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Private company

Finger Lakes Railway

Logo: Finger Lakes Railway, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

Class III railroad in New York, US

The Finger Lakes Railway (reporting mark FGLK) is a Class III railroad in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The company began operations on July 23, 1995, and operates in Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Schuyler and Yates counties. The FGLK operates 13 diesel locomotives on 167 miles (269 km) of ex-Conrail trackage, formerly owned by the New York Central Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Lehigh Valley Railroad.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1994Founded1

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FGLK 1702 EMD GP9
Photo: terry cantrell, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The Finger Lakes Railway (reporting mark FGLK) is a Class III railroad in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The company began operations on July 23, 1995, and operates in Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Schuyler and Yates counties. The FGLK operates 13 diesel locomotives on 167 miles (269 km) of ex-Conrail trackage, formerly owned by the New York Central Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Between 2001 and 2013, the railroad operated a heritage railroad known as the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway which offered passenger train excursions.2

Corporate structure

Finger Lakes Railway sits at the top of its group. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The Finger Lakes Railway is predominantly a freight company. It was founded by three shortline railroad entrepreneurs, former Boston & Maine Railroad managers, Cynthia O’Connor and Michael Smith (Retired October 2024), and George Betke, Chairman of Farmrail with funding from Genesee & Wyoming.

FGLK handles about 18,000 cars of freight each year. It handles a large variety of goods serving the local agricultural and manufacturing industries. The main cargo includes plastic, clay, grain, stone, lumber and paper products, scrap steel, chemical substances, finished steel, salt, sand, soda ash, paper, potash, fertilizer, beer, phosphorus fertilizer, telephone poles and aluminum ingots, Lead waste. The Finger Lakes Railway interchanges with the Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, with connections to Canadian Pacific via Norfolk Southern. Direct Limited interchange of agricultural products is permitted between New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad in Solvay, NY.

From Wikipedia’s article on Finger Lakes Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Between August 1, 2022 & Mid-June 2024, Finger Lakes Railway subsidiary Midcoast Railservice operates the state-owned line between Brunswick, Maine and Rockland, Maine for three years.

From Wikipedia’s article on Finger Lakes Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1994Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$4.4M 2019–2025
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2019–2025: $4.4M in all. Federal grants $4.4M.$0$1M$2M$3M$4M2019 · Federal grants: $500.0K2019202120232025 · Federal grants: $3.9M2025
Figures by year
YearFederal grantsTotal
2025$3.9M$3.9M
2019$500.0K$500.0K

Federal awards

Obligated amounts from USAspending.gov6, by calendar year, 2019–2025, for its registration. Obligations are what agencies committed, not always what was paid out. Contracts pay for goods and services; grants, loans and direct payments are assistance. Loans are charted at the face value of the loans listed here. An award’s amount below is its lifetime total, and some began before the years charted.

Largest grants

  1. May 1, 2025$3.9M from Federal Railroad Administration: Consolidated Rail Infrastructure And Safety Improvements7 To FINGER LAKES RAILWAY CORP. Award 69A36525421240CRSNY
  2. Oct 1, 2019$500.0K from Federal Railroad Administration: Railroad Safety8 To FINGER LAKES RAILWAY CORP. Award 69A36520401070SIPNY

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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