UPDATE: The mayor's office has received a check for $38,432.24 from Pan Am Railways.
The City of New Britain is threatening legal action against Pan Am Railways after asking them to reimburse the city for the thousands of dollars it cost to deal with a December 2016 derailment.
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 said they have not received a dime.
"They originally agreed on the settlement price of and now they’re turning their back on that and saying we’ve changed our mind. Well, you promised us that you would reimburse us and now you’re changing your mind? We want to know why," Mayor Erin Stewart said.
"They have a deadline of November 15 to pay up the amount of money that they owe us and if not, we’ll be moving forward with a lawsuit for the damages that we had to incur," the mayor continued.
Local
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.
