here’s been a lot of talk lately about rail service in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

From Reading to Tamaqua and Jim Thorpe to Tunkhannock, over the last few years, the Reading and Northern has been a major factor in expanding area tourism and making certain that local business and industry has freight service available.

Otherwise, the area’s rail resources have been sidetracked for more than a half century, unless you’re in or near a major city.

In the last several years, there’s been a renewed interest in a rail line linking our expanding region to New York City via Scranton, and it’s building steam slowly and deliberately.

It’s a tale similar to a story many of us heard as children.

One might remember how “The Little Engine That Could” tried to do its best, whispering “I think I can” as it chugged its way up a mountain to deliver toys to waiting children on the other side.

Our region’s story starts the same way, instead with a goal of getting people from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York City without white-knuckling a wintry drive through the Poconos, or hoping that the traffic gods are looking down with favor on the George Washington Bridge.

And just like the Little Engine in the story, the Scranton line has been waiting for some help to come along.

Year after year since an engine last rolled into The Electric City in 1970, one administration after another rolled past, each with its own excuse for not getting involved. Funding stalled and studies gathered dust. Tracks rusted or were removed. The ravages of time pushed the idea to a sidetrack.

But the idea of our own little train never quit.

It sputtered and coughed, but kept chugging. Sometimes, there would be a feasibility study, maybe even a grant application. Inching forward, supporters repeated the mantra — I think I can.

Now, with renewed interest from Amtrak, federal money to rebuild and PennDOT finally jumping aboard, the Little Engine is moving closer to the summit.

The engine’s path, one of only five chosen projects in the nation, is closer than ever to making it to the top.

On Feb. 19, PennDOT has scheduled a webinar on the project to talk about route options and locations for potential stations. They’ll be taking public comments, too.

The story moved to the second of a three-step process. The next part of the journey deals with the work itself — like engineering, preparing budgets and timelines and other things needed to lay the track for construction and eventually, service.

Part three could bring hundreds of millions in funds to pay for construction and related work.

And if it gets past that phase, rail service could make its way from Scranton to Pittston to Wilkes-Barre and points south over already established lines.

Reading and Northern has already proposed a $10 million purchase of a rail system owned by Luzerne County. A new station at Wilkes-Barre is part of the plan. From there, the rails spread far and wide.

Once a pipe dream, passenger service along the Scranton line to the Big Apple is taking on a new focus.

In addition to clearing a crowded Interstate 80 traffic corridor, it offers a better guarantee of getting from here to there, and bringing more tourism to fuel the region’s economy.

Estimated travel times are about the same as existing bus services. Trains, though, aren’t usually affected by poor road conditions or rush hours.

And for regular commuters costs could be comparable.

Through the years, though Scranton’s story hasn’t been around as long as the Little Engine’s tale, generations have grown up hearing that passenger service won’t ever happen. Some over the same time span have held out hope that it would return like a long-lost uncle.

But persistence is the story’s key.

It reminds us that big, region-shaping projects don’t happen in the snap of a finger. It reminds us that communities need to keep pushing, even against the odds.

It reminds us that things happen because people don’t want the place they live to be treated like a passing whistle-stop.

In a sense, the rail line’s story is a lot like the Little Engine’s — not because they’re identical, but their message is the same.

It’s the difference between starting toward a goal and refusing to give up to make sure it happens.

As local communities try to rebuild and reinvent themselves, it’s a message that should ring loud and clear.

Like Scranton, our area isn’t quite at the top of the Little Engine’s mountain. But for the first time in a long time, there’s a rhythm in the rails that’s steady, determined and getting louder.

That’s a train we all should be aboard.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

To register for the PennDOT webinar, visit the project website at Advancing PA Rail in advance to receive a meeting invite and webinar link. A recording of the webinar will be available for viewing on the project website for at least 60 days following the meeting.