Governor Tom Wolf announced yesterday that PennDOT and Norfolk Southern Corporation have reached an agreement to expand passenger rail travel access in western Pennsylvania.
An announcement was made back in February that both sides would jointly examine opportunities to eliminate chokepoints and improve the state’s 65 operating railroads – spanning more than 5,600 miles — to better permit freight and passenger trains to operate together.
Wolf said in a news release that “this is another example of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and our strong state-funding position ensuring we can bring more mobility and economic benefits to these communities.”
To support the expanded passenger operations, the Commonwealth will invest more than $200 million in infrastructure and safety improvements that will be constructed and maintained by Norfolk Southern, and they will stem from an operational feasibility study, recently released by the corporation. The study includes upgraded rail lines, passenger platforms, sidings and necessary communications signals infrastructure.
Meanwhile, PennDOT will redirect Multimodal Transportation funds to support the project, as part of the BIL’s funding to replace train sets on the Amtrak passenger-rail network.
More information on the improvements can be found on the Plan the Keystone website.
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