Amtrak Could Restore Scranton to New York City Service

According to a press release, Amtrak is exploring the feasibility of restoring passenger service from Scranton, Pennsylvania to New York City.

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According to the Amtrak press release, Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority released the findings of a two year analysis, and it seems very feasible that rail service could return from Scranton to New York City for the first time since 1970.

Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner stated "Passenger rail service in and out of Scranton was discontinued in 1970, only one year before Amtrak was created. Restoring and expanding this corridor with daily multi-frequency service would dramatically boost mobility and economic development for residents of Scranton and Northeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and the broader Northeast region."

Under the current plan, their would be three roundtrips per day of approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes between New York and Scranton with stations located in Scranton, Mt. Pocono, East Stroudsburg, Blairstown, Dover, Morristown, Montclair, Newark and New York City.

United States Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said "Amtrak's study confirms what the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania have known for years: restoring passenger rail between Scranton and New York will boost our economy and help people travel for business, tourism, family, and more. What's more, this route would have relatively low infrastructure costs and a high expected ridership. I have long advocated to expand passenger rail back in Northeastern PA and thanks to the infrastructure law, we are closer that ever to getting it done."

As someone who frequently makes the trip from Binghamton to New York City through Scranton, I could not be more excited about the possibility of passenger rail service from Scranton to the city. While the overall time of the trip might not change, the worst part isn't the length of the drive but how long it takes to get through the final stretch through New Jersey, onto the Cross Bronx Expressway, and then down to Long Island. That portion of the trip may not be physically that long, but sitting in standstill traffic to drive five miles over nearly an hour is the worst part of the trip every single time.