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Pocono News Section
New life for Scranton to NYC Rail Line
New life for Scranton to NYC Rail Line - Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 4:56PM EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY- The Scranton to New York commuter rail line has new life. Thursday morning, President Obama announced 8 billion dollars in stimulus money set aside for railway projects across the country. Eyewitness News caught up with Yana Jernigan and her family visiting Scranton from New York City . They drove here, but if there was a commuter train route, they would have left the car in the garage. "I think it's a very good idea with the current economy the way it is it gives people a lot more options," says Jernigan.
The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority says a Scranton to NYC rail line could be coming down the tracks. Railroad authority president Larry Malski says, "It's been a long journey but we are more ecstatic right now than we ever have been." Malski says that's because of Washington 's new approach.
Billions is expected to be pumped into proposed rail line projects like Scranton ’s. The project is currently missing railroad tracks from the Delaware Water Gap into New Jersey . The Jernigan's say they would hop on board. Ron Jernigan said, "It would open up more opportunities for people in the city to get out into the country because right now the only way to do it is by car."
Or by bus, and with traffic congestion, that can be a long trip. People traveling to New York City from the Martz Bus station in Scranton can expect about a three hour and ten minute bus ride. That’s up from about two and a half hours a few years ago. Malski is confident the funding will come soon for the Scranton line. "We finally have an administration in Washington who's putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to passenger rail," said Malski.
The Scranton to New York City rail line price tag is 500 million dollars. That's considerably less than some projected high speed rail line projects in the country, like San Francisco to Los Angeles . | | |
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