The retirement of Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, a champion of upstate causes, raises additional questions about the project.The State Senate began studying the line's feasibility three years ago, but that step is on hold because of budget concerns. According to Sen. Tom Libous, chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Transportation, the state would have to establish a rail authority to manage such a plan. Authorities across the state are under scrutiny right now, so it would be difficult to convince the state government to establish a new one, he told the paper.