I want to start out by commending Jay Bradley and Lehigh Valley News for an exceptionally well-written summary of the LV passenger rail study made public on Wednesday afternoon. In addition to his story, the 60-page analysis itself is included. It's important to note at the onset that no project sponsor has been identified. This simply identifies the best five of 12 different possibilities for passenger rail to NYC, Philly and Reading. It is not a feasibility study, despite what it calls itself. That comes later, as the report itself acknowledges (page vii, 4). It is not an alternatives analysis. That, too, would come later. (page vii, 4) There has been no consultation with railroads like Norfolk Southern, which might have problems sharing limited rail space for much-needed freight that minimizes highway traffic. (page 4)
According to the study, 30,000 people commute from the LV to the Newark/NYC area; 100,000 to Philly; and 70,000 to the Reading area. Before getting into the prohibitive costs, the commuting time alone should be a deal killer. It will take 2.5 hours to get to NYC, nearly 2 hours to get to Philly and nearly an hour to Reading. Who is going to spend 5 hours a day sitting in a train?
And will it be 5 hours or more? I took an Amtrak from DC to Pittsburgh two summers ago. The trip was supposed to take 7 hours. It took 12.
My own view is that this analysis is flawed. In addition to identifying routes for Amtrak (the only possible sponsor), feasibility and alternatives should have been explored in detail. For example, the routes into Philly would require the elimination of Bethlehem's Greenway and the Saucon Rail Trail. Not only is this controversial to recreational cyclists and businesses who benefit from them, but it destroys a pedestrian route used by many who work at the casino. It destroys or interferes with several parks and pay $739 million to do so.
And why not identify alternatives first?
As John Marquette observes at Reddit, there are positives to passenger rail. But can't we consider buses?