City of New Britain Receives Check from Pan Am Railways

The city planned to sue if the check did not come this month.

Days before the City of New Britain would have filed a lawsuit against Pan Am Railways over reimbursement for the thousands of dollars it cost to deal with a December 2016 derailment, the city has received a check.

The derailment cost the city just over $78,000. New Britain city officials told NBC Connecticut that Pan Am Railways wanted to settle for $38,432, which totals the approximate cost of the city’s emergency response, equipment and overtime, after a Pan Am train derailed on Columbus Boulevard.

Part of a settlement states that Pan Am, who was at fault for the derailment, would remove the rest of a brick wall that was damaged.

After the city said they reached an agreement with the railroad company, they were supposed to receive half of the money in September and the other half in October, but the city had not received the money until Monday when it received a check for $38,432.24 from Pan Am Railways.

Mayor Erin Stewart previously said the company had a deadline of Nov. 15 to pay. If the money did not come by then, the city planned to move forward with a lawsuit for the damages. 

Prior to the settlement agreement, Stewart said it took getting state senators involved so that the city could hear back from Pan Am.

Pan Am chose not to comment for the story earlier this month.

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