The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority’s plan to restore passenger train service between Reading and Philadelphia has new elements that may help ensure its success, writes Michelle Lynch for the Morning Call.

The most important element of the updated plan, according to Katherine Hetherington Cunfer, director of government and community relations for the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, is that the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority will now be working with Amtrak.

The authority is led by a nine-member board made up of three representatives each from Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

“Amtrak is the only entity that has the statutory authority to require passenger rail on freight lines,” Cunfer said.

“By working with Amtrak, we have the ability to get much further with the freight operators than we would if we were just begging.”

The other new element is a change in federal law that allowed the authority to be accepted into the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program.

The program has given the authority an initial $500,000 to jumpstart the preliminary design phase of the passenger train service.

The first phase will be to prepare a service development plan which will include a statement of work, schedule, and budget. The complete project is expected to take about 5 years.

Read more about the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority’s plan in the Morning Call.

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