The court ruling could be a face-saving way for the administration to change it's mind and go back to railroading. Or is that too much to hope.
The end of the article struck me...
[?Tupper Lake?] Village Mayor Paul Maroun said passenger trains would be a good form of mass transport, connecting three major Adirondack villages to downstate and the rest of the country. He has also supported a trail beside the rails, which state agencies said would not be feasible.
“I know that in my heart I always thought the rail should keep operating because I think it’s a way of mass transportation into the heart of the Adirondacks,” Maroun said. “From being a naval officer, you don’t tear up a strategic type of transportation — in fact, in this area, one of the few strategic types of transportation into the heart of the Adirondacks.”