In the News

Officials took a field tour on Monday of the proposed Lackawanna Extension, the long-awaited train linking the Poconos to New York City.

As the reality looms closer, U.S Rep. Matt Cartwright and personnel from Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation met by the Dansbury Depot in East Stroudsburg, one stop on the route that would provide Amtrak rail service between Scranton and New York City.

Cartwright and Nicole Bucich, vice president for network development at Amtrak New York, took part in the field tour assessing the entire stretch of the proposed rail line.

"We completed the New Jersey side and looked at some potentially troublesome areas," said Cartwright. "We looked at some viaducts, two of which are in need of some repair, one of which is completely filled in and we have to figure out what to do with that. So, there are some design and engineering and construction challenges. The bridge…the viaduct that goes over the river is owned by Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority right now and it's a fixer upper."

He expects to find out in November whether the route receives Corridor I.D. designation from the Federal Railroad Administration, which "gives you a pretty decent dollop of federal dollars for further engineering work and some construction money as well. But the this is very encouraging that Amtrak has sent somebody out to survey this whole area of track."

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