People interested in a potential Amtrak passenger train service between Scranton and New York City had lots of questions Thursday.
During a state Department of Transportation webinar, they wanted to know how often the trains would run, how much a trip would cost, the location of stations and, perhaps most importantly, when the first train will roll.
After a while, Todd Euston apologized for lacking answers to these and other questions.
“I hate to keep saying more to follow, but we are pretty early in this, and so we're working through all these details that we can come back to you with and provide you with that information in one of the next meetings,” said Euston, an engineer with the consulting firm KCI and PennDOT’s project manager for developing a plan for the train service.
The webinar marked the public’s first chance to ask top project officials directly about PennDOT’s progress on a service development plan. Work on the plan began early last year and is expected to take until sometime in 2028. The plan is expected to flesh out potential answers, including coming up with construction costs and a firm timetable.
Public hearings will follow before transportation officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey settle on final answers for the many questions.
What we know
Amtrak has estimated the construction costs at between at least $169 million and at least $266 million. That is for buying rolling stock, signals, rails and related equipment.
The nation’s largest passenger railroad estimates operating costs of about $19 million a year, about $6 million more than revenues, which means the states will have to contribute so the train can operate.
State and federal officials who spoke again outlined the project’s advantages:
- It’s one of only five nationwide chosen to develop a service plan.
- Government bodies own the entire right-of-way, which means no cumbersome negotiations with private railroad companies are necessary.
- Its 473,500 projected annual riders represent robust usage.
- One in 16 Americans live in the regions along the route and their population is expected to grow by 9% by 2050.
- Forecasts show employment in New York and New Jersey alone will grow by 25%.
“There’s a tremendous population here that could potentially benefit,” said Jeff Stiles, a project official.
Euston acknowledged past studies suggested three round trips a day and potential station locations, but all the details remain part of developing the service plan, which is scheduled to cost $5.46 million.
A few new details did emerge:
- The project will need double tracks in some places so trains traveling in different directions can safely pass each other, Euston said.
- The final number of stations will depend on keeping travel time at about three hours, or roughly about the trip time for cars and buses between Scranton and New York City, said Angela Watson, PennDOT’S director of rail, freight, ports & waterways.
- Dual-mode engines will pull passenger cars. Dual mode means the ability to use diesel fuel and electrical power. The electrical part of the route would be between New Jersey Transit’s Dover station and Penn Station in Manhattan. The route from Dover to Scranton will operate on diesel power.
- Once a train traveling east toward New York City hits Dover, New Jersey, it could operate on a northern route through Montclair or a southern route through Morristown. The existing schedule of New Jersey Transit trains will help determine which route is best, Euston said.
The last Scranton-to-New York City passenger train ran on Jan. 5, 1970.
