ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Specifics about a possible return of passenger rail routes to Lehigh Valley are coming down the track.
News is expected to pull into the station in October, study consultants for the Lehigh Valley Passenger Rail Analysis project revealed during a Lehigh Valley Transportation Study committee virtual public meeting Wednesday.
- First results of a study to determine the feasibility of a return of passenger rail to Lehigh Valley will be released in October
- The study will determine, in part, the potential passenger service and viability of rail infrastructure in and around the valley
- Passenger rail service was discontinued in Lehigh Valley 40 years ago
The Transportation Study committee announced last year it was collaborating with the state Transportation Department to conduct the analysis.
PennDOT is funding the $300,000 study, which will include factors such as costs, initial capital investments, service alternatives, and ridership potential.
The results of the study also will indicate what the next steps of the project will be, including funding and environmental considerations.
First 'All aboard!' could come by 2033
The study will go a long way in determining the return of rail service to the Lehigh Valley for the first time in 40 years.
The study will evaluate potential alignments between Lehigh Valley and New York City/Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, and Reading, according to a PowerPoint presentation made by Chris Jandoli, a transporation, environmental and land-use planning manager for WSP, of Philadelphia.
"We're really at the beginning of this process."Chris Jandoli, planning manager, WSP
Consideration also is being given to NJ Transit, Amtrak and the Southern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, becoming rail partners.
"We're really at the beginning of this process," Jandoli said.
PennDOT’s study also will include details about the lengthy process to advance the passenger rail project, including negotiations for track usage, potential funding sources and upgrading infrastructure.
Other proposed passenger rail projects in the state — Scranton and Reading, for two — are further along in process, with decades of previous studies completed.
When the Lehigh Valley project was announced last summer, PennDOT Deputy Secretary Jennie Louwerse said calls for the first “all aboard!” won’t be heard until about 2033.
