Passenger Rail Service Talks

A Congressional hearing about the future of passenger rail service this morning discussed many possibilities, including improvements made to the Amtrak Daily Pennsylvanian route between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, creating a route to stop at State College, creating a route between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and additional routes to Pittsburgh's light rail system to include South Side, Oakland and the Route 28 Corridor. Amtrak Senior Director for National State Relations Ray Lang says the Keystone Corridor, the route connecting Harrisburg and Philadelphia, is a major triumph. It take 90 minutes to get from one city to the other on an express route, 30 minutes faster than it was before making improvements. Since improvement completion, ridership was up by 26 percent. Lang says the Daily Pennsylvanian route could use similar improvements to become more efficient. Also, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 Patrick McMahon says light rail will pay large dividends, and would be more reliable than other modes of transportation to get to jobs, businesses and run errands. The most practical routes to extend Pittsburgh light rail service to be to accommodate the East End, South Side, and Route 28 Corridor.

PA Allocates $38.5 Million in Railway Funds

Pennsylvania has handed out its yearly allocation of rail freight improvement grants this year totalling $38.5 million. Locally, U.S. Steel received $3.2 million to improve its system within the Mon Valley Works, and Allegheny Valley Railroad Company received $728,000. Allegheny Valley President Russ Peterson says the money will be used to rehabilitate a section of track which runs from Hazelwood and Bruceton through Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, and West Homestead.He says the funds will help complete a three-phrase repair project which included replacing drainage, ties, and resurfacing. He says without the money, the repairs would have taken much longer to complete. In all, 48 different railway companies across the state received money.