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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 12/22/21

 

Senators seek study of potential Northwest passenger-rail service

 

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators representing the greater Northwest region this week called on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a Greater Northwest Working Group for the purpose of working toward the restoration and enhancement of passenger-rail service across the region.

 

SNIP

 

The senators seek to expedite provisions within the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last month. The new law includes funding to restore and enhance passenger-rail routes in rural and underserved areas.

 

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[CNJRoss]

RT&S  1/11/22

 

Scranton-to-NYC passenger rail route looks like it could be revived

 

 

The momentum for the return of a Scranton (Pa.)-to-New York City rail route continues to build.

 

The Monroe County Commissioners just approved a resolution to support the line, which would bring back rail service between Scranton, Pa., and New York City with several stops along the way. U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) also stamped his approval on the route, saying the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding, which includes $66 billion for the restoration of rail lines, should help.

 

Amtrak used to run the line years ago, and an economic impact study was recently completed. The study revealed a Scranton-NYC route would generate $87 million in annual economic activity and nearly $3 billion from one-time investments.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Forbes, 3/25/22

 

Amtrak’s Expansion To The Hinterlands Will Be Costly To The Government & The Economy

 

Ike Brannon

Contributor

Ike Brannon is a senior fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation

 

 

As I marched in my cap and gown to receive my college diploma 35 years ago I asked my best friend, standing next to me, to summarize what we had been taught the previous four years in three words or less.

 

"Europe is better," he responded, without missing a beat.

 

Our professors—nearly every one of whom I came to have great respect and affection for—frequently informed us that Europe's literature, architecture, city planning, social mores, health care, social safety net, and cuisine were all superior to what we had in the United States.

 

And, of course, everyone of those professors who had studied in Europe invariably told us about the superiority of the continent’s rail system, which allowed people to cheaply and easily travel throughout the continent, unlike in the U.S.

 

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I didn’t mind enduring a modicum of Europhilia from people I respected greatly and to whom I owe a lot, but the idea that we need to replicate their rail system is absurd. Passenger rail works best when serving densely populated areas relatively close to one another, which aptly describes Europe but not the U.S. For less densely populated communities at some distance from one another, rail makes little sense, especially when we have functional airports in nearly every city.

 

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[KevinKorell]

Style Blueprint, 4/28/22:

 

 

   Is the South Getting New Amtrak Routes?    

 

 

Passenger train travel has long been lacking in the American South. While our country has grown and changed, our train system has not. Accessible, improved rail travel has many perks: cleaner air, less traffic, and positive local and regional economic benefits for the folks who live, work, and play in the areas of service. According to Amtrak, people spend more than 80 hours a year in traffic in some cities — that’s two weeks of vacation down the drain!

 

Article

[KevinKorell]

WFMZ-TV, Channel 69 in Allentown, PA, 5/15/22:

 

 

   Economic summit in the Poconos focuses on possible Amtrak line to NYC    

 

Business leaders from around the Poconos gathered Friday morning.

 

The big topic? A possible Amtrak line going to and from the Poconos and New York City.

 

Here is that story.

[CNJRoss]

WPXI, Pittsburgh, PA 6/27/22

 

PennDOT, Norfolk Southern reach agreement to expand Western Pennsylvania passenger-rail access

 

 

PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) have reached an agreement to expand passenger rail access in the western part of the Commonwealth.

 

According to a release, the Pennsylvanian Amtrak service travels roundtrip between New York City and Pittsburgh via Harrisburg once a day. The agreement anticipates upping that to twice daily.

 

Eastbound service would depart Pittsburgh at 7 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and westbound service would depart Harrisburg at 9:41 a.m. and 4:40 p.m., the release said.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

PennDOT news release

 

Governor Wolf Announces Commonwealth, Norfolk Southern Operating Agreement to Expand Western Pa. Passenger-Rail Access

 

06/27/2022

 

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf today announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) have reached an agreement to expand passenger rail access in western Pennsylvania. The milestone follows a February 2022 announcement that the parties would jointly examine opportunities to eliminate chokepoints and improve Pennsylvania's rail system to better permit freight and passenger trains to operate together.

 

"Rail is critical in Pennsylvania and I'm pleased that we're moving quickly to deliver these long-needed improvements," Gov. Wolf said. "This is another example of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and our strong state-funding position ensuring we can bring more mobility and economic benefits to these communities."

 

Currently, the Pennsylvanian Amtrak service travels roundtrip between New York City and Pittsburgh via Harrisburg once daily. The agreement that Norfolk Southern and PennDOT developed anticipates increasing those Pennsylvanian passenger services to twice a day. Eastbound service would depart Pittsburgh at 7:00 AM and 12:30 PM and westbound service would depart Harrisburg at 9:41 AM and 4:40 PM.

 

To support these expanded passenger operations, the commonwealth will invest more than $200 million in infrastructure and safety improvements that will be constructed and maintained by Norfolk Southern. The future improvements and construction will stem from a previously released Norfolk Southern operational feasibility study (PDF) and includes upgraded rail lines, passenger platforms, sidings, and necessary communications signals infrastructure.

 

PennDOT will redirect state Multimodal Transportation Fund dollars to fund the project, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's (BIL) funding is intended to replace train sets on the Amtrak passenger-rail network. PennDOT had been setting aside funding to meet requirements from a 2008 federal law for Pennsylvania's contribution toward train set costs. Additionally, PennDOT anticipates applying for additional BIL funds to support station and platform improvements along the route.

 

Over the past four months, PennDOT and Norfolk Southern collaborated to develop the operating agreement framework and finalized the improvements necessary to increase passenger-rail service on the Norfolk Southern-owned corridor between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The parties anticipate a final definitive agreement to be developed by the end of 2022. Construction can begin after the definitive agreement is executed, with the new service anticipated to start within three years of the definitive agreement's execution.

 

"This is an excellent example of the positive solutions that government and business can engineer by working side-by-side toward the same goal. Together, we are able to expand passenger rail access, while preserving a critical artery of our nation's supply chain. This truly is a model for future public-private rail agreements," said Norfolk Southern Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan.

 

The Pennsylvanian is a key passenger rail route connecting the citizens of the Keystone State from east to west, and, in conjunction with the Capitol Limited, with Cleveland, Chicago and beyond. The Pennsylvanian travels Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line, which is part of the Premier Corridor, a main artery for double-stack intermodal traffic moving between Chicago and metropolitan New York. It is one of the busiest and fastest links on Norfolk Southern's network, connecting with major terminals in Toledo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley. In a typical year, more than half of Norfolk Southern's time-sensitive parcel and less-than-truckload shipments use the route at some point. The company's trains deliver or pick up freight at 140-plus stations along the corridor, serving more than 800 customers.

 

Pennsylvania has 65 operating railroads – the most of any state in the country – and ranks fifth in total track mileage with more than 5,600 miles. The 2020 Pennsylvania State Rail Plan (PDF) reported that in 2017, 193.5 million tons of freight in 4.9 million railcars moved over the state's rail transportation system.

 

More information on PennDOT's efforts to improve intercity passenger rail in Pennsylvania is available on the Plan the Keystone websiteOpens In A New Window.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Pittsburgh (PA) Business Times, 6/27/22

Pennsylvania to invest $200 million for expansion of passenger rail service between Pittsburgh and New York City

 

 

An additional passenger rail offering connecting Pittsburgh to New York City, with stops at other destinations along the way, is coming closer to reality.

 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced an investment of more than $200 million to be made over the coming years that will lead to an additional daily passenger train from Amtrak connecting the two cities. The funding, which will redirect a portion of PennDOT's Multimodal Transportation Fund dollars as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be used to build needed infrastructure and safety improvements along the route as well as for the replacement of train sets on Amtrak's passenger rail network. PennDOT said it's been setting aside funding for such an endeavor following a 2008 federal law that required the state to allocate funding for passenger rail service.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Railway Age, 6/16/22

 

Forbes and Ike Brannon Have It All Wrong

 

Written by Dan Bilka

 

Boise, Idaho. Dan Bilka photo

 

Ignoring the “Hinterlands,” the heartland of America, as Jack Kemp Institute Senior Fellow Ike Brannon champions in his Forbes article, “Amtrak’s Expansion To The Hinterlands Will Be Costly To The Government & The Economy,” will in reality be expensive to the U.S. government, the economy and the American way of life. 

 

Brannon follows in the footsteps of numerous other coastal elites denigrating any rail investment outside the Northeast Corridor (NEC); recycling the same misrepresentations time and time again. Generally well-respected outlets like Forbes tacitly endorse these flawed arguments by airing them without context or clarifications. These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, these are people’s lives you are dealing with, Mr. Brannon. This is the sort of argument that could be used to fight against the Interstate Highway system and the U.S. Postal Service if they were not already established services.

 

Passenger rail service is heavily patronized in these “Hinterlands.” The main problem is that there is not enough of it (and an equipment shortage has constrained existing services). We need more routes and services, and increased frequencies on existing routes. Communities such as Fargo, N.Dak; Lincoln, Neb.; Memphis, Tenn.; and San Antonio, Tex. have very robust ridership even while they are currently only served late at night. Amtrak’s Sunset Limited and Cardinal have good ridership despite running less-than-daily service. Daily service is the acceptable baseline for any passenger train route where a highway alternative is readily available; twice-daily is the baseline of planning. 

 

 

L-D (Long-Distance) service is the backbone of Amtrak’s National Network. The value of the services is that they serve much more than endpoint to endpoint. They serve hundreds of overlapping city pairs. Every L-D route serves many communities in a way separate connecting routes cannot. These trains are multipurpose mobility machines, engines of economic growth and lifelines to the communities they serve, similar to the heavily-subsidized highway and aviation services enjoyed in select communities.

 

 

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Dan Bilka is an architectural designer by training, a Board Member and former South Dakota Representative of the Rail Passengers Association, Board member of the Colorado Rail Passengers Association, Coordinator with the Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Coalition, and Co-Founder and President of All Aboard Northwest. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the listed organizations. 

[KevinKorell]

Lehigh Valley Live,  7/3/22:

 

 

     Amtrak waiting to hear from the Lehigh Valley about bringing back passenger rail  

 

 

Work continues to bring proposed passenger rail lines back to Pennsylvania as part of Amtrak’s vision for 2035, but while other agencies and authorities are hustling there’s relative silence from the Lehigh Valley.

 

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