Lackawanna Cutoff Passenger Service Restoration

2005Vdub wrote:

harryguy082589 wrote:if they started work today when would they be finished?

who's doing the work? Smal company? Large company?

If Sanzari and RRCC joined forces they could knock out this entire project in probably 18months with the help of NJT for the signals/wiring.

What are the plans right now?

there are none. This isn't even set in stone that it's going to get built. We'll find out what's going to happen towards the end of the month hopefully.

May 1st we will know for sure. It might leak out before that though on the status. we need a high rating from the feds...feedback at these meetings will be looked at, and could effect their decision..hence WE NEED POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM OUR MEMBERS-Lets do this!!

it would be great if anyone could take pictures/videos at these meetings (or possibly record the audio of the presentations?)
this is great news.

As a resident of northeast Pennsylvania, I'd be thrilled to see some actual progress on this long promised rail service!

From the Allentown Morning call

Study gives thumbs up to restoring rail service

Plan calls for restarting line from Poconos to New York City.

By Matt Birkbeck Of The Morning Call

A major environmental review of a proposed passenger rail link between New York and the Poconos reveals ''no adverse problems'' that would delay the project, a Pennsylvania rail official said Thursday.

Robert Hay, chairman of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority, said the report, which studied the effects of rail service on everything from wetlands to noise, was ''very positive'' and should help the project obtain a favorable rating from the Federal Transit Administration. A ''highly recommended'' rating will allow the project to proceed.

''The environmental report is very good,'' said Hay. ''If we get a good rating we can begin preliminary engineering and look for service in 2010.''

The environmental assessment, completed by Edwards and Kelcey of Morristown, N.J., will be available online and for public review and comment at required hearings scheduled for Jan. 17 in Scranton and Jan. 25 in Stroudsburg. Two other hearings will be on Jan. 23 in Andover, N.J., and Jan. 29 in Blairstown, N.J.

The two-year study, mandated under federal funding guidelines, is the ''final hurdle'' before a much anticipated rating by the transit administration, which is expected in May.

But the study has also hiked the estimated price of construction to $510 million, according to Joe Dee, a spokesman for New Jersey Transit, which is nearly double from original estimates and far above the $120 million in federal funding approved to date. ''That's the new cost estimate,'' said Dee.

Officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have cooperated on a joint plan to restore service from New York's Penn Station through northern New Jersey into the Poconos and to Scranton. The service was terminated in 1970. Efforts to restore the line, which began in the 1980s, have gained momentum and political support in recent years, given Monroe County's population growth, which has helped fuel daily congestion on Interstate 80 in New Jersey and contributed to New Jersey's failure to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. New Jersey must address that issue by 2010 or lose billions in federal highway funding.

Gov. Ed Rendell has committed $40 million in required matching funds to the project, but the higher cost estimate will double the match required from Pennsylvania and New Jersey to $100 million each. Despite the deficit, Hay said the project will proceed should it receive the ''highly recommended'' rating from the transit administration, which is required to draw on the federal funding.

Hay added that with the environmental study completed, remaining items leading up to the federal rating, including a joint operating agreement between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, are moving quickly.

In addition, Hay said the recent approval of a casino license for Mount Airy Lodge in Monroe County, which is located less than two miles from a proposed train station in Mount Pocono, has added support for the rail service, support proponents hope to see at the public hearings. ''The funding is based on commuter service, not tourist,'' said Hay. ''But we'd like them to know what tourism will do for us.''

Kevin Feeley, a spokesman for Mount Airy Lodge, said officials there would support ''any type of solution to the challenges of bringing people to the area.''

''We've talked about it before and support the idea,'' said Feeley.

Dee said the environmental assessment, which will be delivered to the transit administration with public comments this spring, will be available on the New Jersey Transit Web site.

...the report will be available on the NJT website...after it opens? seriously they haven't updated their website in ages...

i think it's also interesting that the Clean Air Act is coming into play here. maybe that will force this project to completion...

The Environmental Assessment document is linked through this article. Do a Google News search (keyword "New Jersey Transit"); the story will appear, and the link. It's a PDF file, 154 pages long.

From the Pocono Record:

Passenger rail to NY/NJ cost estimates double
January 05, 2007

The project cost of passenger rail service to the New York metropolitan area has more than doubled and now stands at $551 million, according to the latest study from New Jersey Transit.

The information is included in New Jersey Transit's Lackawanna Cutoff report. It concludes the rail line will have no negative environmental effects.

Next event: Public hearings to provide input so the Federal Transit Administration can decide in May how to rate the project. The Stroudsburg hearing will be Jan. 25 from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Quality Inn on West Main Street.

The project would require reconstruction of 88 miles of rail line from Scranton to New York, including the complete rebuilding of 27 miles in New Jersey where rails were torn up in the 1970s.

The primary motivation for the project has been New Jersey's failure to meet the standards of the Clean Air Act. Mitigating auto pollution by constructing a rail line would help, otherwise the state stands to lose billions in federal highway funding.

More in Saturday's edition.

It is unfortunate there is a lot of fluff in the cost of this project. For instance, each station is scheduled to have hi-level platforms. While convenient, are they really needed? A mini-high level does the job and the volume of passengers is not expected to be high enough to warrant a hi-level for quick boarding. A concrete slab and a mini-hi will do just fine. Take $20 Million off the cost of this project.

Also, Scranton yard is scheduled to have covered storage tracks. Why?

I think that high levels are necessary due to ADA requirements. Mini-highs work almost like waivers, in that they allow you to maintain an existing station structure without having to knock down the entire platform. New stations, however, must be completely accessible. This is achieved either with high platforms or low-boarding trains. Since NJT doesn't have the latter, high-levels are a must.

geoffand wrote: Also, Scranton yard is scheduled to have covered storage tracks. Why?

either because of snow or because the part of town the yard is going to be in isn't that good.

Hi, I didn't see the whole report... Will the Cutoff be single tracked concrete ties with passing sidings or will they use wood? Using wood will also keep the cost down.


SMP

blockline4180 wrote:Hi, I didn't see the whole report... Will the Cutoff be single tracked concrete ties with passing sidings or will they use wood? Using wood will also keep the cost down.


SMP

Am i right that wood limits speed? How much? It said alot of the area is floodzone...

harryguy082589 wrote:Am i right that wood limits speed?

Wood ties do not limit speed. Amtrak operated at 125 mph for several years over wood ties. Concrete ties are supposed to last twenty years longer than wood, which is approximately 167 percent of the average life of wood ties.

harryguy082589 wrote:It said a lot of the area is flood zone

Between Slateford Junction and East Stroudsburg is the area susceptible to flooding, i.e. the Delaware valley area (and this indeed flooded two winters ago, especially Delaware Water Gap village).

lensovet wrote:New stations, however, must be completely accessible. This is achieved either with high platforms or low-boarding trains. Since NJT doesn't have the latter, high-levels are a must

Chicago's Metra would not be rushing to institute "level boarding" for their low-platform systems in spite of adding new stations—their gallery cars require step-up boarding, and these selfsame gallery cars are equipped with wheelchair lifts. Not to mention that Metra did indeed recently acquire newer gallery cars with the same traditional configuration…