Three new Amtrak routes in eastern Pennsylvania could serve 1.3 million riders annually, with service starting about three years after funding is secured, Amtrak’s president said Friday during a roundtable discussion.
In May, Amtrak released a report proposing 39 new routes nationwide, including three lines separately connecting Allentown, Reading and Scranton to New York City.
“We think we could start these services relatively soon, about three years, once we have funding, and of course working with our host railroads on access,” said Amtrak President Stephen Gardner. “So we are really excited for the opportunities before us today and believe that working together with all of you, with our U.S. Department of Transportation, with partners in New Jersey, we could make a huge difference to the mobility in this region.”
Gardner was joined on the Zoom call by Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-8), Allentown Deputy Mayor Leonard Lightner, Reading Mayor Eddie Morán, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Greater Reading Chamber Alliance President and CEO Jim Gerlach. U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (PA-7) submitted a pre-recorded video.
Amtrak is also proposing improvements to existing routes in Pennsylvania, including by increasing speeds on the Harrisburg-Philadelphia leg of the Keystone route and increasing service on the Pennsylvanian route from one daily round trip to two.
Those two routes currently serve about 1.8 million people; the upgrades could add 400,000 annually, Gardner said. Together, they would have an economic impact of about $4 billion related to capital investments in improvements, plus $276 million “in incremental annual economic impact.”
Amtrak released economic impact numbers for Pennsylvania’s three new routes earlier this summer. Combined, they would have an impact of $6 billion from initial capital investments and $199 million annually.
Related: Amtrak saysNYC-Scranton routeeconomic impact would be $87 million a year
While none of the routes are guaranteed at this stage to go into service, the benefits of Pennsylvania’s potential lines do seem to have caught the attention of Amtrak leadership.
“The proposed new Reading, Allentown and Scranton services exemplify the potential that exists across the country, and also the potential to create new local job opportunities and promote the already robust travel and tourism industry that exists in Pennsylvania,” Flynn said. “In fact, as we analyze potential routes that could be developed in our national strategy, the new proposed services linking Reading, Allentown and Scranton to New York City were among the top corridors for projected ridership and financial performance.”
Advocates for the Scranton-NYC route believe that it is especially well-positioned to move forward because the full right-of-way is owned by three public agencies, meaning no negotiation with freight companies would be required.
The biggest hurdle for that project is securing funding to restore the 28-mile Lackawanna Cutoff, where tracks were removed between Port Morris, New Jersey, and Slateford, Pennsylvania. NJ Transit is already rebuilding a 7-mile section at a cost of $62 million.
Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority signed an agreement in July for Amtrak to assess the infrastructure along the Scranton-NYC route and study ridership and revenue.
“After years of meetings and letters and studies and an awful lot of talk, we are closer than ever before to rail cars hitting rails and chugging along to northeastern Pennsylvania,” Cartwright said Friday.
The Scranton-NYC route has the potential to serve both the tourism and recreation market in the Poconos — Cartwright noted the prevalence of train travel in the early days of Pocono resorts — as well as a sizable commuter population.
“We talk about Scranton to New York, and maybe the most important segment of that is lower Monroe County, in Pennsylvania to New York, because so many people are already doing that commute. Tens of thousands of them, by various studies,” Cartwright said.
Leaders on the call touted the jobs, economic benefits, connectivity and environmental benefits the improvements and new routes would bring to Pennsylvania.
“We have an opportunity before us to build a transportation system that will actually meet the needs of the 21st century. And Amtrak is ready to do its part. It has created a forward-looking vision of train service to America, and that’s good for jobs, good for the economy, it’s good for our climate. It’s really good for Pennsylvania,” Wolf said.
Of interest:Amtrak to assess Scranton-NYC infrastructure; Cartwright forms rail restoration caucus
Wild said her constituents should have “the ability to conveniently board a train and connect to new opportunities across the region. Trains matter to the Lehigh Valley and to the rest of America. They bring us together. They reduce carbon emissions. And they make us competitive with the rest of the world. I am optimistic about the future of Amtrak in America, and I look forward to supporting the bipartisan infrastructure package in the House.”
The funding picture, including what might be required from state or local governments, will become clearer if or when Congress passes infrastructure legislation.
Local leaders are supportive of the Reading route, said Gerlach, the business leader from that area, “but of course it’s all about funding, and that’s where federal legislation is so critically important. State cooperation, as well as regional and local cooperation, all have to be in place for these projects to come together.”
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. It also took a procedural vote in August to advance a $3.5 trillion budget outline for committees to begin filling in details of President Joe Biden’s agenda.
“Yes, we do have to pass the Build Back Better plan, and we have to pass these infrastructure bills moving through the Congress. And I can tell you, I and many others like me will be doing our dead level best to make sure those things pass,” Cartwright said.
“The bipartisan infrastructure package, which allocates the largest federal investments in passenger rail service since the creation of Amtrak, could be the turning point needed to reach the monumental potential of rail in the 21st century,” Wild said.
Kathryne Rubright is a reporter covering the environment, northeast Pa. politics, and local news. She is based at the Pocono Record. Reach her at krubright@gannett.com.
