Union Tank Car announced it has ordered removal of all of its rail cars from New York’s Adirondack Park.

A total of approximately 65 empty, cleaned tank cars owned by Chicago-based Union Tank Car had been temporarily placed on rail lines controlled by the Iowa Pacific Railroad. Removal of all 65 Union Tank Car units is expected to be completed by mid-January 2018.

“As we have previously explained, all rail car owners store idle rail cars from time to time until they can be returned to active service,” said William Constantino, general manager-leasing for Union Tank Car. “We select the storage provider, but not the precise storage location. We regret the railroad’s decision to place some of our rail cars in the Adirondack Park, which raised public concern about their effect on the park’s beauty and environment. We are acting to remove all Union Tank Car units from the Adirondack Park as soon as possible, relocate them to other areas outside the state of New York until they are returned to service, and ensure none of our cars are stored in the Adirondack Park in the future.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called it a victory for the people of the state. “It’s just repugnant to the concept of the Adirondack Park that you would use it for a storage lot,” he said. “The Adirondack Park is one of New York’s great natural jewels and a driver of the North Country’s economy, and never should have been used as a glorified junk yard.