I hope our local elected officials at all levels, and especially our economic development officials, will take notice of the June 6 news release (https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/investors/news-releases/?rptyr=2013&article=2353574) from CSX railroad concerning the placing of their Syracuse to Massena line up for sale. They are currently looking for a new operator for this line. As much as there has been many discussions of building new highways in the North Country to facilitate transport of goods, and therefore growing a new economic base, one should not lose sight of the fact that rail transport is a vital component of any strong commercial base in any region. Although many in today's society look at rail transport as being dead, "a thing of the past", it is a very short-sighted viewpoint. A strong, viable rail transport system in our local region has always been, is, and always will be an important selling point for attracting business to our area. The loss of this rail line would be devastating to the economy and region.