PA: Could funding snag derail return of Lehigh Valley passenger train service?

Does anyone have a spare $450,000? For those wanting to bring back passenger rail to the Lehigh Valley, that’s the cost of a vital phase in the 10-to-12-year plan to begin service from Allentown to either New York, Philadelphia or Reading.

At December’s Lehigh Valley Transportation Study joint Technical and Coordinating Committee meeting, it was revealed that the organization has no funding to move forward with the second of 14 phases in the Lehigh Valley Rail Study. There was a movement to have the funding split evenly between Lehigh and Northampton counties, but that hit a snag after Northampton failed to include it in its annual budget that was approved in November.

Rick Molchany, chair of the LVTS Coordinating Committee, said that even the individual phases of the project may take some time to come together and he’s optimistic that Northampton County Council eventually will change its mind. Additional funding, he said, may also be found from the state.

The LVTS is looking for the $450,000 to conduct a study that includes determining the financial feasibility of the proposed rail service. Molchany says the results could determine whether the project continues forward.

The funding will include $250,000 in consulting fees and $200,000 for consultant management costs, which includes hiring one. A project sponsor also must be identified.

“I don’t think we’ll be hurt by not having the money today to allocate to a vendor to move on to the next stage or step or phase,” Molchany told The Morning Call. “This process will help us to continue to gather information and make a good decision on that investment and not be foolish and blindly committing money.

“We have thoughts and questions and concerns as well, but we believe that to get the answers to those thoughts and questions and concerns, we need this feasibility study to happen. I’m optimistic, but at the same time, at this point, there is no Phase 2.”

Becky Bradley, LVTS secretary, said this step can’t be skipped.

“There’s no way around doing Phase 2,” she said during the December LVTS meeting. “We are the legal entity that needs to advance the passenger rail system.”

50-50?

During July’s LVTS meeting, Molchany said Lehigh County is willing to fund half of the $450,000 needed for the feasibility study. Molchany is the county’s general services director.

Lehigh’s pledge was contingent on Northampton making a matching contribution. If additional funding is found from a different source, the counties would then split the remaining difference.

However, during its November budget meeting, Northampton County Council did not vote on an amendment from Council President Lori Vargo Heffner to match Lehigh’s contribution after it failed to receive a second.

The $225,000 contribution was to come from the Department of Community and Economic Development Response Grants. County Executive Lamont McClure said that money was to be used for agency nurses at Gracedale, the county’s nursing home. In the budget he presented to council, he had no money set aside for the rail study.

McClure said the money, instead, can come from the LVTS. He said it has hundreds of millions of dollars set aside for projects such as widening Route 22, and that the state recently gave SEPTA a $150 million boost.

Bradley has said that funding cannot be taken out of such programs as the Transportation Improvement Plan, a regionally agreed-upon document that’s required by federal law and is developed in collaboration with state and public transit providers.

To get more information and help see where the rail plan stands, the LVTS will meet with the Federal Railroad Administration early this year to discuss the next phase and beyond.

“What we will be doing in 2025 is continuing back on what we all agree to do, which is to have a forum with the Federal Rail Administration, because that’s exactly who we need to work with to be able to talk through additional steps,” Bradley said, “to be able to talk about fundraising for the external connection through passenger rail to and from the Lehigh Valley.”

Molchany said the meeting will be open to the public and will likely be at a monthly LVTS gathering.

“We believe that will give us either more ammunition to seek variable funding for the project, or, quite honestly, it might mean that there’s just no way that we’re going to be able to pursue a rail plan going forward,” he said. “Once that information is received, consumed and vetted, we’ll be again seeking funds for the next phase of the rail study.”

Once that information is out, Molchany thinks Northampton could change its mind on its share of funding.

“We haven’t gotten into the real nuts and bolts that we’re hoping the next phase can give us, specifically the sponsorship locally, who’s going to be responsible for the project,” he said.

“So we’re kind of in the hurry up and wait mode.”

Mackenzie will ‘continue to look’ into project

Another question heading into the new year is how much help will the Lehigh Valley get from Washington in its rail quest.

New U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who took office Friday, said he would “continue to look” at passenger rail without outright rejecting it.

His predecessor, Susan Wild, who lost to Mackenzie in November, was a supporter of the project.

“I think there could be a potential avenue for that, but at the same time, it’s just like every investment, you’re looking at the costs and the benefits that are going to be coming to the community and you’re trying to weigh those things out,” said Mackenzie, R- 7th District.

Mackenzie said someone reached out to him about the proposed Scranton-to- New York passenger line, which is slated to cross the Delaware River Viaduct into New Jersey from Upper Mount Bethel Township, which is in the 7th District.

“They wanted to discuss it, but at this point, they said it’s still just something that’s not in a discussion and planning phase,” he said. “It’s not that it’s actually being moved forward with construction or anything like that.”

Mackenzie’s fellow freshman, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who now represents Scranton, said he’s willing to take a look into that route which was heavily championed by his predecessor, Matt Cartwright, and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, both of whom lost reelection.

Mackenzie said he will take feedback from the district before making a firm decision of support.

“It seems like it’s still in the early to mid phases of discussion,” Mackenzie said. “So we look to be a part of that. We’re going to talk to the local community, talk to all the stakeholders involved and again, we’ll be weighing the costs and benefits before we would kind of move forward with supporting anything or not.”

Reporter Lindsay Weber contributed to this story.

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