Passenger Train Project In Chesco, Montco and Berks Is Moving Ahead

PHOENIXVILLE —Passenger rail service from Reading to Philadelphia, with stops in Phoenixville Pottstown, and Norristown, is expected to come to fruition by 2029, Christian Leinbach, chairman of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, said/

The authority is overseeing a project to restore a passenger train on a renovated existing rail line that closed in 1983.

The first step in restoring the passenger train is to come up with a plan to use the $500,000 that was awarded by the federal government to the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority to participate in the Federal Railroad Administration’s transportation program.

The plan will include a timeframe for the project and what will be accomplished. The preliminary plan is to provide four to six trips daily.

Leinbach estimated the first phase will take about three to four months and is already underway.

In December, the authority hired AECOM, a Philadelphia engineering company, to prepare a service development plan and operating schedules and more, Tom Frawley, the authority’s executive director said.

The second phase is to develop a business plan, conceptual engineering, and alternative routes that include New York.

The third step involves finalizing a plan and developing a preliminary design. The authority is working with Norfolk Southern and Amtrak.