Starting in the late 19th century, an extensive series of electric interurban railways served the Syracuse region, but by the 1930s local rail service ceased, and was replaced by buses and automobiles.
In the 1990s, Syracuse University graduate Robert Colucci proposed converting for passenger service a roughly 10-mile (16 km) segment of the old Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Syracuse–Binghamton line between Carousel Center (now Destiny USA) in the north and Jamesville in the south.
At the time, the little-used right of way was owned by Conrail which considered it a financial burden, so it was sold for $1 to the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).
The Onondaga IDA leased the track to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) at a bargain rate, and allowed the NYSW to use it for freight service on the condition that a passenger rail service be run at least 250 days per year with 1,250 round trips.
In addition, the NYSW received a $400,000 tax break from the state of New York in order to cover operating costs.

Since the rail infrastructure was already in place, the state of New York provided a $4.5 million grant to purchase rolling stock (four 1950 Budd Rail Diesel Cars) and construct passenger stations along the former freight line.
OnTrack was incorporated on September 24, 1994 and the primary service (known as the "City Express") began in October between Syracuse University and Carousel Center, ten times a day and seven days a week.
OnTrack initially exceeded expectations, carrying 45,757 passengers in its first three months of service.
However, the line never turned a profit, and relied on state subsidies and volunteers to keep it running.

With the initial success of the line, NYSW proposed expansions to the service, including a 2002 proposal for intercity service from Syracuse to Binghamton, stopping at several OnTrack stations as well as Cortland.
However, the schedule was not optimized for commuter usage.
Rather, the train was meant to bring visitors to popular destinations such as downtown museums and restaurants, weekend excursion trips to Jamesville Beach Park, the "Santa Train", and the "Orange Express" special service for Carrier Dome events.

A high priority project was a connection to the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center, where it could link directly to Amtrak and local/intercity buses, and the adjacent new Alliance Bank Stadium (now known as NBT Bank Stadium) and CNY Regional Market, which would make the line much more useful for commuters.
This would require the construction of a new bridge over Park Street (State Route 370), so that local trains would not interfere with operations on the CSX (formerly New York Central) main line.
Centro, Syracuse's local transportation agency, began construction on the bridge in 1998, and also prepared a platform at the Walsh Transportation Center to allow direct transfer between OnTrack and Amtrak trains.
Congressman Jim Walsh approved a $3 million grant for the project.
However, CSX objected due to concerns that construction might destabilize the adjacent freight rail bridge across Park Avenue.
The bridge project never came to fruition, and more than 300 tons of steel budgeted for construction were scrapped.

By the mid-2000s, ridership had dropped greatly due to the lack of continued publicity.
Services were reduced, which led to further decrease in patronage.
By 2003 the train ran only four days a week.
It was found that NYSW had used large amounts of state grants and tax breaks to fund freight service and repair track on its other lines, rather than for OnTrack as the money had been intended.
Another reason for the lack of growth in ridership was the lack of stations in residential areas, limiting the line's use by commuters.
In 2007 service had been cut to weekends only and ridership had declined to 50 passengers per day, far short of the 500 per day required to be profitable.
NYSWR chairman Walter Rich, one of OnTrack's major proponents, died in 2007, and the railroad's interest in continuing OnTrack service dim
Starting in the late 19th century, an extensive series of electric interurban railways served the Syracuse region, but by the 1930s local rail service ceased, and was replaced by buses and automobiles. In the 1990s, Syracuse University graduate Robert Colucci proposed converting for passenger service a roughly 10-mile (16 km) segment of the old Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Syracuse–Binghamton line between Carousel Center (now Destiny USA) in the north and Jamesville in the south. At the time, the little-used right of way was owned by Conrail which considered it a financial burden, so it was sold for $1 to the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (IDA). The Onondaga IDA leased the track to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) at a bargain rate, and allowed the NYSW to use it for freight service on the condition that a passenger rail service be run at least 250 days per year with 1,250 round trips. In addition, the NYSW received a $400,000 tax break from the state of New York in order to cover operating costs.
Since the rail infrastructure was already in place, the state of New York provided a $4.5 million grant to purchase rolling stock (four 1950 Budd Rail Diesel Cars) and construct passenger stations along the former freight line. OnTrack was incorporated on September 24, 1994 and the primary service (known as the "City Express") began in October between Syracuse University and Carousel Center, ten times a day and seven days a week. OnTrack initially exceeded expectations, carrying 45,757 passengers in its first three months of service. However, the line never turned a profit, and relied on state subsidies and volunteers to keep it running.
With the initial success of the line, NYSW proposed expansions to the service, including a 2002 proposal for intercity service from Syracuse to Binghamton, stopping at several OnTrack stations as well as Cortland. However, the schedule was not optimized for commuter usage. Rather, the train was meant to bring visitors to popular destinations such as downtown museums and restaurants, weekend excursion trips to Jamesville Beach Park, the "Santa Train", and the "Orange Express" special service for Carrier Dome events. 
A high priority project was a connection to the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center, where it could link directly to Amtrak and local/intercity buses, and the adjacent new Alliance Bank Stadium (now known as NBT Bank Stadium) and CNY Regional Market, which would make the line much more useful for commuters. This would require the construction of a new bridge over Park Street (State Route 370), so that local trains would not interfere with operations on the CSX (formerly New York Central) main line. Centro, Syracuse's local transportation agency, began construction on the bridge in 1998, and also prepared a platform at the Walsh Transportation Center to allow direct transfer between OnTrack and Amtrak trains. Congressman Jim Walsh approved a $3 million grant for the project. However, CSX objected due to concerns that construction might destabilize the adjacent freight rail bridge across Park Avenue. The bridge project never came to fruition, and more than 300 tons of steel budgeted for construction were scrapped. 
By the mid-2000s, ridership had dropped greatly due to the lack of continued publicity. Services were reduced, which led to further decrease in patronage. By 2003 the train ran only four days a week. It was found that NYSW had used large amounts of state grants and tax breaks to fund freight service and repair track on its other lines, rather than for OnTrack as the money had been intended. Another reason for the lack of growth in ridership was the lack of stations in residential areas, limiting the line's use by commuters. In 2007 service had been cut to weekends only and ridership had declined to 50 passengers per day, far short of the 500 per day required to be profitable. NYSWR chairman Walter Rich, one of OnTrack's major proponents, died in 2007, and the railroad's interest in continuing OnTrack service dim
OnTrack