The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced that the department is advancing the transformative Scranton to New York Penn Station Passenger Rail Corridor project and will host an online public meeting to engage the public in the process.

PennDOT will host a virtual public meeting webinar at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, as part of the department’s Service Development Plan for the proposed service.

This progress continues after receiving federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments to expand passenger rail across Pennsylvania, and the project remains one of just five in the nation to reach the Step 2 milestone.

“The Shapiro Administration has been full steam ahead to advance this project that would be transformative for the northeastern region’s economy and mobility,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said.

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

To join the webinar, please register in advance at the project website at Advancing PA Rail to receive a meeting invite and webinar link.

The recording of the webinar will be available for viewing on the project website for at least 60 days following the meeting.

During the webinar, an overview of the Scranton to New York Rail initiative, a summary of the route options, and locations for potential stations will be presented. Public comments can be provided during the meeting or through the project website.

The department’s SDP includes:

• Stakeholder engagement with railroads, agencies, and the public;

• Service options analysis and transportation planning;

• Capital project identification, conceptualization, and cost estimating;

• Environmental analysis; and

• Financial and implementation planning.

The current Scranton to NYP Passenger Rail Corridor project being studied through the SDP would restore intercity passenger rail service between Scranton, Pennsylvania, and NYP, 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.

The proposed route would include potential intermediate stops at East Stroudsburg and Mount Pocono, and Blairstown, Dover, Montclair, Morristown, and Newark, New Jersey. The proposed corridor would provide new service (three daily round trips) on mostly active rail lines and would rebuild infrastructure that has been abandoned in a portion of one segment.

The corridor has been the subject of numerous studies, including the 2021 Amtrak Connects US Corridor Vision Plan, and long-range transportation plans that show growing demand for intercity passenger rail service along a corridor that has heavy auto traffic and unpredictable travel times for commuters and other travelers.

The corridor will provide an intercity transportation option for historically underserved northeastern Appalachian Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey.

The corridor study and development is made possible by the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with the goal of developing formal planning studies and performing preliminary engineering for new intercity passenger rail corridors as well as enhancements to existing passenger corridors.

The SDP milestone follows the FRA’s approval of PennDOT’s SDP scope.

The SDP scope’s $118,000 investment was fully funded by the program, and the development of the SDP — estimated at $5.46 million – will be 90 percent federally funded with PennDOT matching 10 percent.

With PennDOT as the lead agency and Amtrak as the proposed operator, the owners of the route – Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey 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.