In the News

The route from Scranton to New York City is highlighted on this Amtrak map. Nearly half a million people could travel by train between Scranton and New York City annually by 2030, according to Amtrak’s newly released study of the proposed route. “There is much to celebrate when it comes to Amtrak’s latest discoveries, including the two hour and fifty minute drive from downtown Scranton…

It’s not the same thing as a train arriving at the Scranton station, but the Shapiro administration’s decision to make PennDOT the lead agency in the effort to reestablish passenger rail service to New York resolves one of the most persistent problems with the project. For decades, long before the passenger-rail effort was tied to Amtrak, the state government was a major impediment…

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo toured downtown Pittston on Friday and said the revitalization she saw is “inspiring.” Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, walked up and down Main Street with Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo, Pittston’s Main Street Manager Mary Kroptavich and U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic. They stopped to look at a mural and visited…

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo visited the City of Pittston on Friday along with U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright to engage in a roundtable discussion on economic development and community revitalization along with business leaders and heads of area Chambers of Commerce.   Read more here.

The return of passenger rail has been discussed in the Poconos for decades — but the region is finally on the verge of learning whether the federal government will provide money for a route connecting Scranton to New York City. Applications for the Corridor Identification and Development Program are due March 27, and then it’s up to the Federal Railroad Administration to decide which…

Passenger rail service in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Poconos is one step closer to happening. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is throwing its support behind the idea. It has drawn up an official application for the program. att Cartwright, the Democratic congressman from Lackawanna County, made the announcement Friday morning.   Amtrak trains would carry…

PennDOT is throwing its support behind developing passenger rail service in northeastern Pennsylvania. Congressman Matt Cartwright revealed that PennDOT plans to spearhead the application process. Now if the rail project happens, officials say Amtrak trains would take people from Scranton and the Poconos to big cities like New York City and even Boston. Read more here.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and New Jersey Transit Authority are signing on to support the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority’s application to fund the Lackawanna Cut-off train. “We are feeling very good about returning passenger rail to Northeastern Pennsylvania," said U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright. Cartwright held a press conference on Friday, March 17,…

“It was an honor to welcome Secretary Raimondo to Northeastern Pennsylvania and show off Pittston’s many thriving small businesses and impressive revitalization Pittston has undergone a real renaissance in the last decade,” Cartwright said. “It was a lively and engaging discussion about how we can create new economic opportunities for Northeastern Pennsylvania.”

The state Department of Transportation will be the lead on the region’s application to a federal program that could fund up to 80% of passenger rail construction between Scranton and New York City. The Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program could support 30 or more new Amtrak routes in chosen corridors across the nation. Officials working…