(erielack) Money remains obstacle for Scranton-NYC railway

["Gary R. Kazin" <gkazin_@_yahoo.com>]

Money remains obstacle for Scranton-NYC railway
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
STAFF WRITER
bkrawczeniuk_@_times shamrock.com
Published: Monday, June 15, 2009 4:12 AM EDT

Now that planners have shown the potential environmental damage won’t thwart a Scranton-to-Hoboken passenger railroad, they might be able to concentrate on the real stumbling block.

Money.

“The next phase is the financing,” said Larry Malski, president of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.

If the estimated $550 million project is to really get going, Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials will have to refine cost estimates, figure out what the states’ and federal shares should be and commit to paying their shares.

Finding the money is key to convincing the Federal Transit Administration to rate the project. The FTA issues ratings of low, medium-low, medium, medium-high and high to designate whether a project deserves federal funding and the level it deserves. The criteria include whether a project makes travel easier or serves low-income households, reduces pollution, is cost-effective, boosts economic development and supports existing uses of land. The federal government typically contributes up to 50 percent to train projects, depending on their worthiness.

But the project “won’t proceed” without a local financial commitment, FTA spokesman Dave Longo said.

The states have held off getting serious about money at least until an environmental impact study is finished and approved by the FTA. That approval still hasn’t happened, but the final part of the environmental study is done and ready for public comment. Planners say the project won’t have any significant environmental effect.

New Jersey Transit, which would run the train, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation both say they haven’t yet come up with the money.

The project is likely to be constructed in phases rather than all at once, Malski said.

Design of construction plans for a seven-mile portion of the 28-mile former Lackawanna Cutoff that starts in Port Morris, N.J., has begun and construction is expected to start next year.

The cutoff, known for its straightness and allows faster travel, is the only major part of the route from here to Hoboken that still has no tracks.

The next phase will likely concentrate on restoring tracks on the rest of the cutoff to connect Port Morris and Delaware Water Gap, he said.

Doing that would give the project a foothold in Pennsylvania and connect the Poconos, home to many people who commute to work in New York City and northern New Jersey. A study showed about 2,800 riders a day would use the train by 2025.

The study found only about 45 daily riders would come from Scranton.

Malski said the plan remains to build the railroad all the way to Scranton, crediting U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey for pushing to keep the project moving ahead. Tracks between Scranton and Delaware Water Gap are in place, though they would have to be upgraded for passenger trains, he said.

“I’m not interested in something that doesn’t run all the way to Scranton,” Casey said Wednesday.

He spoke to Gov. Ed Rendell about the project several weeks ago, he said, and the governor remains willing to help. Casey said he is hoping to organize a tour of the project this summer for the governor and perhaps Vice President Joseph Biden, the leader of the Obama administration’s push for railroad expansion.

For now, however, the project remains in low gear, where it has been for years.

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/06/15/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090615.a.pg20.pr15rail_s1.2600003_loc.txt

Gary R. Kazin
DL&W Milepost R35.7
Rockaway, New Jersey




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