N.J. says onus for rail funding rests on PA

[WayneM]

You still can't get there from here.

While work has gotten under way on an initial seven-mile stretch of route in New Jersey, much more money and political effort are needed to restore passenger rail service from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York City's doorstep - and the onus may fall largely on the Keystone State.

"The ball is in Pennsylvania's court," said Penny Bassett Hackett, a New Jersey Transit spokeswoman. "We don't have a role at this point."

Advocates of the plan to restore service over the former Lackawanna Cut-Off rail route, meanwhile, remain unbowed despite the latest setback in their efforts to secure federal funds.

"I have total confidence in our federal delegation, which is where it lies right now," said Larry Malski, president of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.

The long-suffering project was denied another shot at government money two weeks ago, when the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Pennsylvania's application for $401 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, under a high-speed intercity passenger rail program, had failed.

Members of the area's congressional delegation say they will pursue other avenues - possibly through a second round of appropriations in the spring, when the Federal Railroad Administration expects to solicit applications for $2.5 billion in high-speed rail money.

..."

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/n-j...vania-1.604198

[Irish Chieftain]

Even at this stage of the game, NJT's still stuck in their myopic view that sees only the ARC tunnel. Amazing that they can find several billion for that project and get several more billion from the federal government while the Cutoff project costs a fraction of such pork planning. The PA Northeastern Regional Rail Authority would have done better to get Amtrak involved. (And now Amtrak is planning their own new tunnels to Manhattan, since NJT's tunnels do not connect to Pennsylvania Station.)

[fisheye]

Irish Chieftain,
You seem to be knowledgeable on the subject. I am wondering if you know anything about the Peterskill rail ridge that crosses the Delaware and Route 80? That is the bridge that is located four miles into NJ on Route 80. Whether or not that bridge would be used for passenger rail service; it does not matter. It is deteriorating; it was built in the 1920’s. It also bottlenecks Route 80. The current rail lines into PA, along the Delaware, are subject to flooding - I think the one year that they under water three times.
I guess what I am asking is: If we were to be serious about rail service; we would have plans to overcome our problems and we would make them public. Wasting money, studying problems (that others have studied for decades) makes no sense to me.

[WayneM]

NJ Transit are not very interested in our rail.

We need strong federal support to create high speed rail directly into Penn Station, or if that is impossible due to congestion, we won't see anything until new capacity has been built in Manhattan potentially including the tunnel.