By Saktisri Gowrishankar, Staff Reporter
The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority (SRPRA) is beginning the second phase of its passenger rail restoration project. Chester, Berks and Montgomery counties formed the informal Schuylkill River passenger rail committee after Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in November 2021. In June 2022, it formally established the SRPRA, which aims to reinstate passenger rail connecting Reading, Phoenixville, Philadelphia and nearby states.
The project consists of three phases. Phase one focuses on examining previous attempts to reconstruct railways in the area, as well as developing a project scope, schedule and budget. Phase two involves determining a service development plan, ridership forecasts, capital and operating costs, operation simulations and infrastructure improvements. Phase three addresses the engineering and design of the rail system and considers its predicted environmental impacts.
Tom Frawley, executive director of the SRPRA, has worked on similar projects in the past and said that the authority has made rapid progress.
“There have been projects where they were stuck in planning for 20 years or more,” Frawley said. “This isn’t like that. We’re not doing a bunch of work to put an interesting report on a shelf somewhere. This is very laser-focused on doing what we have to do to actually get the service running.”
Marian Moskowitz, vice chair of the Chester County Board of Commissioners, said that the overall purposes of the project are to enable economic opportunities for county residents and reduce environmental harm by promoting the use of public transportation rather than personal vehicles.
“This is a really good project, and it’s really good because we’re all rowing in the same direction. We all have the same goals, and our communities each benefit differently from the impact of returning regional rail,” Moskowitz said. “I love partnerships. I think it’s the way to move things forward in a responsible manner.”
The organization will mainly build upon preexisting rail infrastructure across the three counties for the new services, including discontinued train stations and the Norfolk Southern freight rail. Frawley expects the rails to open to the public in 2029, running six round trips per day. In the mid-2030s, the SRPRA hopes to expand services to New York.
“I feel personally invested in this project because I live in Chester County, so I want to see it succeed. I am confident that the interest that’s been expressed by so many people from all different types of backgrounds is an indicator that we are going to be successful,” Frawley said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing that we can pursue a project that is essentially an ‘everybody wins.’”
Sophomore Seth Kramer regularly uses SEPTA trains to travel to and from Philadelphia. He is optimistic about the project and hopes to use the passenger railway to reach Reading for concerts.
“I’ve had concerts or performances that are in Reading that I would have wanted to go to, but because Reading is almost an hour’s drive away from here, I couldn’t,” Kramer said. “But if there was a passenger rail line to Reading, it would be a lot easier for me to get there.”
Saktisri Gowrishankar can be reached at [email protected].
