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If you're one of the thousands of people waiting for New York City passenger rail service to come to the Poconos, you've heard all about the projected completion dates.
Many of them already have passed.
This one, however, seems a little more optimistic after Monday's announcement that the Scranton-to-Hoboken, N.J., rail project in the works for more then a decade has received special federal designation allowing it to move forward.
The Environmental Protection Agency has declared a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the entire project, meaning the rail line — after a 30-day public comment period — can move to secure funding for the engineering and construction phases.
Pennsylvania's two Democratic senators, Arlen Specter and Bob Casey Jr., made the announcement Monday in Pittston Township.
"This railroad is really about the future," but this is going to bring jobs and commerce and the future to northeast Pennsylvania."
The $550 million project, “I.E Wow I wonder where the $550 million project will come from….will the tax payer’s cover this cost?
The Rail will include stops in the Poconos; the estimated time of completion is four to five years, according to Larry Malski, chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.
The Scranton-Hoboken line has five proposed Monroe County stops in Delaware Water Gap, East Stroudsburg, Analomink, Mount Pocono and Tobyhanna.
Officials from Monroe and Lackawanna counties, as well as New Jersey, have been trying for more than two years to secure the EPA's designation.
Now that the project has the EPA's approval, it must find funding. Malski said the entire $550 million isn't needed immediately, that the project still will be completed in phases. In 2013 or 2014 it can be finished.
Comments
As a past and future Lackawanna Route rider. I do hope they have tilt train equipment. A tilt train would be able to take the many, many curves at twice the speed of a regular train. It's a must ot cut the travel time without special track improvements. Washington State has been running one of these trains for years. It's called Talgo. Service to Syracuse with connections to the west are also a must.
If the trains make it to Scranton, I'd seriously consider driving there in order to catch the train to NYC.
The railroad from Scranton to Binghamton is in beautiful shape and in use, and the owner (Canadian Pacific) has said they'd be happy to run passenger trains on it; and the Binghamton station is even intact (though in need of serious refurbishing, and owned by Norfolk Southern). Extended service to Binghamton seems like it would just need operating funds, a train, and a few million dollars for the Binghamton station.
After that, extended service to Syracuse would be even easier; money for a platform at Cortland, operating funds, and it's ready. (Although the track deserves upgrades it doesn't need them.)
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