AASHTO Journal - Scranton-New York City Passenger Rail Project Advances

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is moving forward with its Scranton to New York Penn Station Passenger Rail Corridor project and plans to host an online public meeting on February 19 to engage the public in the process.

[Above photo by Amtrak]

With PennDOT as the lead agency and Amtrak as the proposed operator, the owners of the route – the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit), and Amtrak – are all project partners in working to restore passenger service to this corridor.

The route from Scranton to New York City last served passenger trains in 1970 as part of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. Today, the entire right-of-way is still intact, with the majority in active use by various public rail operators.

Starting in Scranton, the 60-mile segment of the route in Pennsylvania and across the Delaware River is owned by PNRRA and currently used for freight rail service and Steamtown excursion trains between Scranton and Slateford. One mile of track south of Slateford Junction was previously removed and will need to be reconstructed.
The Lackawanna Cutoff, a segment of the route between Slateford, PA, and Port Morris, NJ, carried its last freight train in 1979 as part of the Conrail network and subsequently had its track removed. The portion of this segment in New Jersey is owned by the New Jersey DOT. NJ Transit is actively reconstructing about seven miles of track at the east end to extend its commuter service from Port Morris to Andover, NJ. The other 20 miles from the Delaware River to Andover will need to be restored.
From Port Morris, the route will run over existing NJT commuter lines to Kearny, NJ.
At Kearny, the route connects to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor for the last eight miles into New York Penn Station.

PennDOT noted that this project is supported by a slice of $140 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA funds awarded to Pennsylvania in 2023 as part of a broader effort to expand passenger rail across the state.

Mike Carroll, PennDOT secretary, noted in a statement that Pennsylvania “has been full steam ahead to advance this project” as it would be “transformative” for the northeastern region’s economy and mobility.

[Editor’s note: In a similar vein, a new study released by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Rail Division highlights the significant economic and connectivity benefits of restoring passenger rail service between Salisbury and Asheville, strengthening links between western North Carolina and the rest of the state.]

“The department continues aggressively improving roads and bridges while investing every possible state and federal dollar into passenger rail services across the Commonwealth,” he added.

The current design of this corridor project would restore intercity passenger rail service between Scranton, PA, and New York City’s Penn Station – providing access to New York City, northwestern New Jersey, and northeast Pennsylvania for employment, business, leisure trips, tourism, recreation, and opportunities at higher education institutions along the approximately 140-mile route.

PennDOT noted that its corridor study and related development activities are made possible by the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development or Corridor ID program funded by the IIJA.