SCRANTON, PA — For about two decades, Larry Malski has fielded questions about when Scranton residents could see the first passenger train from New York City pull into the Electric City. 

“My comment would always be, within five or six years—if we had federal funding,” said Malski, now president of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.

That long-awaited train may now be on the horizon, as $9 million in federal investment has been dedicated for construction work to restore passenger rail between Scranton and NYC. Notably, rather than being used for continued research of the route, this money will be used for construction to get the route ready. 

Federal representatives Congressman Matt Cartwright and Sen. Bob Casey visited Scranton on Tuesday, October 29 to announce the federal grant funding for the project. 

Direct rail service between Scranton and NYC has not existed since 1970, when the Lackawanna Cut-Off, built between 1908 and 1911 and providing passenger service through the middle of the 20th century, fell into disrepair. 

Local representatives have advocated for the restoration of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, starting an effort that has picked up steam in recent years. See sidebar on page 5 for details.  

“This basically is just the rebirth of what we had,” said Malski. “This region was built on coal and railroads; this railroad that we’re going to rebuild—and are rebuilding—basically was the genesis of many of the people who live here.”

“This isn’t just like a nice thing to do,” said Casey. “The people of our region deserve this.”

The rail service is also an opportunity for economic growth. According to a study from Amtrak, which would operate the proposed rail service, the route would bring over $84 million per year in additional economic activity to Northeastern Pennsylvania, said Cartwright. He added that a separate study from the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau determined it would generate $73 million per year in additional economic activity in the Pocono Mountains area alone. 

“This is all good, no matter which way you look at it,” said Cartwright. “And none of us could have done this alone; this has taken a big effort, a big collaboration.”

The award, $8,958,919 in total, comes from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It combines with other state and federal funding to total around $20 million available for the project, according to Cartwright. 

The $9 million is “construction money,” Malski said, which is “going to start putting shovels in the ground.” It will fund work including the refurbishment of one of three major bridges along the route, he said. 

Cartwright said the Lackawanna Cut-Off project is moving into Phase 2 of the Corridor ID program, in which project leaders will create a service development plan with projected stations, schedules and needed upgrades for Scranton-to-NYC passenger rail. 

Casey said the project has been close to President Joe Biden’s heart, and that the President would often bring it up in speeches entirely unprovoked.

“Every time I would call him, he would acknowledge he was going to make it a priority, but sometimes even he would bring it up at unrelated events,” said Casey.