Bresnahan “all aboard” for passenger train between Scranton, NYC

U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., is on board for the Scranton to New York City train project.

Making it clear that he endorses the rail project with full force, Bresnahan sent letter of support to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Acting Administrator Michael Lestingi.

In the letter, dated March 20, Bresnahan expresses his “strong support” for the project, and asks the Federal Railroad Administration to “continue to give the project due and fair consideration.” He also applauds the organization on its “commitment to reviewing this project’s application with fairness and transparency.”

He shares numbers of note, including an estimated 470,000 passengers per year, upward of $84 million in local economic development and opportunity, and that the train will connect Scranton and New York City by rail for the first time in 55 years.

Bresnahan additionally cites “Amtrak Study Examines Scranton – New York Corridor,” dated March 22, 2023, and shouted out “the wonders of Northeastern Pennsylvania,” naming the “scenic Pocono Mountains, the Pocono Raceway, numerous ski slopes and trails, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area,” saying the project “represents a significant investment not only in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but also in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and the broader national passenger rail system.”

“This project represents a significant investment not only in Northeastern Pennsylvania but also in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and the broader national passenger rail system,” the letter reads.

Larry Malski, the president of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, welcomes Bresnahan’s support.

“The congressman has been very supportive of our Amtrak corridor, and basically, he’s asking the FRA, who is handling the funding for all of our construction and everything else to please be involved in the furtherance of our project,” Malski said.

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who was instrumental in helping get the rail project to Phase II, accentuated that the project has support from a wide range of political players.

“The rail project has been bipartisan since the word go,” Cartwright said. “It’s about economic development. People can see the benefit to attracting people from New Jersey and New York with money to spend in our economy.”

Cartwright said the recent naming of Pennsylvania resident Rob Gleason, a former chair of Pennsylvania’s Republican Party and rail service advocate, to the Amtrak Board of Directors was helpful for the progress of the project, adding that there is support from New Jersey’s Democratic U.S. Reps. Rebecca Michelle “Mikie” Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer.

“It doesn’t matter how you’re registered to vote,” Cartwright said. “This passenger rail project between Scranton and NYC is going to mean more jobs, and better jobs for our local economy.”

Malski is confident that the train project will be completed within the anticipated schedule with Bresnahan’s support, and said that research has shown that “all sorts of economic benefits” will stem from the Scranton to New York City passenger train, including new jobs, and new industries.

“We’re very thankful to him (Bresnahan) for recognizing the economic benefits that are going to flow from this project,” Malski said, additionally expressing his gratitude to PennDOT’s involvement, which includes historical knowledge and experience of the only other two railway systems currently in use in Pennsylvania. “It’s not only a transportation project, it’s an economic project. … The tourism industry in all of NEPA, Poconos and Lackawanna County, this is how tourism and recreation is able to grow across the country and it’s going to be a major asset to that industry.”

Malski said there are weekly meetings to keep the project on track, adding that the breadth of work required for the project is vast.