Pennsylvania has federal approval to plan train service between Scranton and New York City, the state Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The Federal Railroad Administration approval puts the project among the first five propopsed passenger rail expansions in the nation to reach this milestone, PennDOT announced.
PennDOT expects to complete the service development plan by 2028. In an earlier study, Amtrak, the nation's largest passenger rail operator, suggested the train could be up and running as early as 2028.
The trip is estimated to take 2 hours and 50 minutes, and Amtrak plans to run three trains each way daily.
“Advancing this project ensures we will leave no stone unturned as we grow the northeastern region’s economy and mobility. We are steadfast in our commitment to the public, business leaders, and many more who look forward to restoring this passenger rail connection,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said in a news release.
A required component of the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor ID program for expanding passenger rail, service development plans detail key elements, including train frequencies and speeds, financial and equipment needs, station locations, economic and environmental effects, and more.
The federal government will cover 90% of the estimated $5.46 million planning cost with PennDOT covering the other 10%, officials said.
The Corridor ID program fully funded $500,000 initially required to establish the project's scope.
The service plan will include:
- 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.
Once completed and federally approved, preliminary engineering and environmental review for elements of the plan can proceed, officials said.

'An important next step'
Erie-Lackawanna passenger rail service between Scranton and Hoboken, N.J., across the Hudson River from New York, ended on Jan. 5, 1970.
The entire right-of-way remains intact, PennDOT officials said, with most actively used by various rail operators.
PennDOT is the lead agency and Amtrak is the proposed operator. But the project involves multiple agencies, as various segments of the route are owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak.
Efforts to restore passenger service took a major step forward in December 2023, when the FRA included the project in its Corridor ID Program.
“Amtrak looks forward to supporting PennDOT and PNRRA as they advance the proposed Scranton to New York City route through the federal planning process,” Amtrak Vice President of Network Development Nicole Bucich said. “This is an important next step to better understand the costs and benefits of this new service and to serve new communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
Amtrak wants stops in Scranton, Mount Pocono and East Stroudsburg in Pennsylvania, and in New Jersey at Blairstown, Dover, Morristown, Montclair and Newark before heading directly into New York City and the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station.
The project would include restoration of about 21 miles of track along the Lackawanna Cutoff, a mountainous but straight right-of-way of the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (later Erie-Lackawanna) that was abandoned and sold after passenger service ended.
Built in the early 20th century, the cutoff earned its name by providing a faster, more direct route for trains than a previous line.
PennDOT officials describe the route as follows:
- Starting in Scranton, the 60-mile segment of the route in Pennsylvania and across the Delaware River is owned by the PNRRA and currently used for freight rail service between Scranton and Slateford. One mile of track south of Slateford Junction was removed and will need to be reconstructed.
- The cutoff, a 28-mile segment between Slateford and Port Morris, New Jersey, 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 Department of Transportation. NJT is actively reconstructing about seven miles of track at the east end to extend its commuter service from Port Morris to Andover. The other 21 miles from the Delaware River to Andover will need restoration.
- From Port Morris, the route will run over existing NJT commuter lines to Kearny.
- At Kearny, the route connects to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor for the last eight miles into New York Penn Station.
"I commend the experience, financial support, and leadership of PennDOT in advancing this vital Amtrak Corridor after many years of acquiring and developing this crucial Transportation and Economic Development Corridor,” said regional railroad authority president Larry Malski, who had led restoration efforts for decades.