@Will posted:@bigkid I basically agree with you. but let's not tread into the political. I don't want to see this thread get yanked. And that goes doubly for you @mark s. We can all agree that everything the gov spends money on doesn't have to turn a profit and leave it at that.
To return to the topic, looking at the map Amtrak released, from where I am sitting in NE PA, the lines from Scranton and the Lehigh Valley to NYC look like a no brainer (to me) for a relatively small investment. There have been plans, proposals and studies for bringing rail service back to the area almost from the day they ripped up the tracks on the Lackawanna cut off in about 1985. And yet nothing gets done. Right now it is a bus or a drive to Dover or taking in your car. The bus is basically an monopoly and expensive and its far cheaper for one person to drive to Dover and take the train than drive in. The problem is it takes forever.
Since this crosses three states, maybe this is the perfect route for Amtrak (ie. the fed gov) to get involved in. Personally I am obviously rooting for this.
Yeah, they have been talking about this for years, with people moving to PA and commuting. Some of the delay that I understand was that the projected cost of commuting would be so high it would be cheaper to drive. Some of it is the cost, of for example getting the Paulinskill Viaduct back into action. A lot of it quite honestly was silliness, all these claims that they would use the lackawanna cutoff for 'garbage trains' or toxic waste trains going to dump sites in Pennsylvania. It is silly because the grades on the cutoff are such that freight trains would likely not use it.
The biggest factor was who would pay for it, if PA and NJ would pay for it, the feds. The other question now will be will it be needed, will people be working from home and not going in, and right now that is a big if.
