Pa. to Provide Funding for NYC-Scranton Passenger Route

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has agreed to provide $3.7 million for track work to make possible Amtrak service between New York and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The funding will come from a redevelopment capital program and be awarded to the Monroe County Industrial Development Authority.

The state’s contribution is half of the cost of installing 43,000 new crossties on a 40-mile stretch of the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad.

The track work will enable the trains to operate at higher speeds than are permitted now.

The route also will use track owned by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.

A news report noted that the state plans to pursue a federal grant to provide the remainder of the funding needed for infrastructure work needed on the route before Amtrak can begin service.

Amtrak has proposed serving the New York-Scranton route with as many as three daily roundtrips.

No timeline has been released for when the track and other infrastructure work will be completed and revenue service will commence.

PennDOT Seeking Grant Applications

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is taking applications for its 2022 state rail-freight grant programs.

Applications will be accepted through Sept. 2 for the Rail Transportation Assistance, and the Rail Freight Assistance programs.

The former is a capital budget grant program funded by bonds, while the latter is underwritten through the state’s multimodal fund.

In 2021, PennDOT awarded $33 million in grants to 25 freight-rail projects.

The state has 65, operating railroads, the most of any state, which operate over 5,600 miles of track.

July RDC Excursion Set on R&N

A rail diesel car excursion has been set for July 29 on the Reading & Northern regional railroad in Pennsylvania.

The excursion will depart Outer Station in Reading at 9 a.m. and visit Tremont, Minersville and Port Clinton.

A photo runby is planned in Tremont in the median of Cres Street. Also on the agenda is a visit to the Anthracite Mine Rescue Station.

A lunch stop is planned in Minersville while a tour of the R&N steam shop will be conducted in Port Clinton.

The excursion is being operated in partnership with the National Museum of Industrial History.

It will be the first excursion train to visit Tremont in more than two decades.

Ticket are $112 for museum members and $125 for non-members. An optional lunch ticket is available for $15.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit https://www.nmih.org/event/2022railroadramble/

Encina to Build Rail-Served Plant in Pennsylvania

Feedstock manufacture Encina plans to build a $1.1 billion facility in Point Township, Pennsylvania, which will be served by the North Shore Railroad.

In a news release, Encina said the facility will convert post-consumer plastic materials into feedstock that can be used to manufacture new products.

The facility is expected to process 450,000 tons of post-consumer materials annually, diverting the vast majority from landfills and away from incinerators, the company said.

Construction of the facility will begin this fall with operations beginning by fall 2024.

Third County Joins Pennsylvania Rail Agency

Formation of a passenger rail agency in eastern Pennsylvania is now complete after a third county agreed to join the effort.

Chester County commissioners voted to join the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, which will lead efforts to create an Amtrak route between Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania.

Earlier commissioners in Bucks and Montgomery had voted to join the rail agency.

Each county will appoint three members to the agency’s governing board, which hopes to hold its first meeting in June.

The new agency will seek grant funding and work with Amtrak to develop the proposed service.

Pa. Counties Seek to Form Rail Passenger Agency

Public officials in two Pennsylvania counties have suggested creating an agency that would work toward restoration of rail passenger service between Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania.

If a third county agrees to join, the proposed Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority will be formed.

Thus far officials in Berks and Montgomery counties have agreed to join the proposed Authority.

Officials in Chester County are scheduled to vote on the proposal this week.

The authority would seek competitive infrastructure funding and to work with Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and other agencies.

It would have a nine-member board that would include members of the county commissions, planning commissions, other agencies, and local mayors.

Amtrak has proposed in its Amtrak Connects US plan operating up to three daily roundtrips between Reading and New York via Philadelphia.

Amtrak Pitches New Service in Pennsylvania

Amtrak brought its road show to Pennsylvania last week during a virtual round table event designed to drum up political support for federal funding that would enable Amtrak to expand service.

The passenger carrier has proposed expansions in the Keystone state that would bring new service to Scranton, Allentown and Reading, and increased service to Pittsburgh.

Some upgrades would be made to Amtrak’s existing Keystone Service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

Amtrak officials said the expanded service could begin in three years but a lot of things would need to fall in place.

Chief among those is Congress approving funding for transportation infrastructure and host railroads agreeing to allow the service.

Amtrak estimates its Pennsylvania expansion plan would attract 1.3 million passengers annually by 2035, with the services contributing $200 million in annual economic impact and $6 billion in incremental economic activity from capital investments in Pennsylvania, based on a projected capital investment needed of $2.7 billion.

Currently, there are two Amtrak services in Pennsylvania funded by the state. The Pennsylvanian between Pittsburgh and New York and the Keystone Service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia handled 1.8 million passengers in fiscal year 2019.

Amtrak has suggested in its Amtrak ConnectUS plan:
    •    New service between Reading – Philadelphia – New York (three daily round trips);
    •    New service between Scranton – New York (three daily round trips);
    •    New service between Allentown – New York (two daily round trips);
    •    Expand Keystone service between Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York from 12 daily round trips to 17 daily round trips, and reduce trip times by increasing Harrisburg – Philadelphia speeds to 125 mph; and
    •    Expand Pennsylvanian service between Pittsburgh – Philadelphia – New York from one daily round trip to two daily round trips, with one round trip extended to Cleveland.

Participating in the round table event were Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner, Amtrak CEO William Flynn, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, Allentown Deputy Mayor Leonard Lightner, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, and Greater Reading Chamber Alliance President and CEO Jim Gerlach.

Pa. to Fund Rail Freight Projects

Pennsylvania will provide $31.3 million in funding for 26 rail freight improvement projects through the state’s Rail Transportation Assistance Program and Rail Freight Assistance Program.

The projects range from $8.4 million to CSX to increase clearance in a tunnel to provide double-stack and auto rack clearance to the Port of Philadelphia to $130,900 to Winfield Storage of Union County to rebuild 400 feet of track and build an unloading pit and conveyor to transload agricultural products.  Other recipients included:

• Boyd Station, $2.6 million, for construction of four new tracks and installation of unloading equipment.

• Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, $700,000, for replacement of some 44,000 feet of rail and 2,500 ties, and the line surfacing.

• Corsa Coal , $246,434, for rehabilitation of about 10 miles of track from its Coleman Junction to the Cambria Plant.

• Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad, $1.3 million, for the construction of a 3,900-foot siding and replacement of approximately 7,440 feet of rail and 1,550 ties.

• Dyer Quarry, $192,150, for a locomotive storage expansion project, including track re-alignment.

• East Penn Railroad, $500,500, for the replacement of about 4,500 ties on the Wilmington Northern line and 2,000 ties on the Quakertown line.

• Gettysburg and Northern Railroad, $1.5 million, for replacement of approximately 2,600 ties and 3,315 feet of main line rail, and for improvements to three at-grade crossings.

• Lehigh Railway, LLC, $506,100, for replacement of approximately 4,900 ties.

• New Castle Industrial Railroad, Inc., $262,500, for construction of a 3,200-foot siding to accommodate increased interchange traffic with CSX and Norfolk Southern.

• Oil Creek Titusville Lines, Inc., $140,000, for a 1,000-foot siding extension.  

• P and S Railyard, $227,658, for transloading project work.

• Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad, $483,000, for replacement of approximately 6,000 ties on its Stony Creek and Bethlehem branches.

• Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co., $246,886, for turnout replacement work.

• Redevelopment Authority of Luzerne County, $276,500, for replacement of about 1,500 ties and surfacing 5 miles of track.

• Redevelopment Authority of the County of Berks, $991,250, for construction of about 1,200 feet of yard tracks at the Boyertown Transload Facility.

• RJ Corman Railroad, $3 million, for replacement of approximately 7,500 ties and 74,000 feet of rail on its Cherry Tree and Cresson subdivisions.

• SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, $282,245, for rehabilitation of 1,550 feet of track on its West Park branch.  

• South Avis Realty, $391,461, for tie replacement and surfacing of industrial park tracks.

• Three Rivers Marine & Rail Terminals, LLC,  $176,146, for replacement of about 600 ties and two switches, and the surfacing of 800 feet of track.

• Union Railroad Co., $700,000, for replacement of about 500 bridge ties and 700 feet of rail, as the first phase of a low-grade bridge project; $1 million for Port Perry Bridge repairs, including replacement of floor beams and bridge stringers.

• Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, $4.7 million, for replacement of three thru-truss bridges and rehabilitation of two abutments on a thru-girder bridge.

•  York Railway Co., $2.1 million, for 1.2 miles of rail replacement and the rehabilitation of seven turnouts and 10 public grade crossings.

No Injuries in CSX Pa. Derailment

No injuries were reported when 14 cars of a CSX train derailed Tuesday afternoon in Hamiltonbad Township, Pennsylvania.

Six of the cars landed in about 40 feet of water in a retention pool at a factory.

The derailment occurred at about 12:25 p.m. CSX officials told local news outlets that seven of the cars were empty and none contained hazardous materials.

CSX officials said they were developing a recovery plan to remove the cars from the pond, and that the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

Derail Closes Pennsylvania Highway

The derailment of an R.J. Corman train in Pennsylvania this week collapsed a bridge that led to the closing of a state highway.

There were no injuries reported in the derailment.

The derailment occurred in Indiana County near Starford and resulted in the closing of Pennsylvania Route 1014.

The derailment left a hopper car dangling over a roadway where the bridge collapsed, Several other hopper cars were overturned.