Yesterday, I told you why passenger rail is unfeasible here in the Lehigh Valley. In a recent op-ed, Northampton County Exec Lamont McClure argues we should at least study the issue, though we've done that already. He hinted at a rail line from Allentown to the Big Apple. A $250,000 regional rail study, released in 2010, revealed that it would cost $1 billion for a passenger rail line to New York City, serving about 800 riders. In a floodplain. That price has obviously gone up over the past dozen years.
In addition to cost, the 2010 study listed the following problems:
• Floodplains - Small areas of 100-year floodplain are present in several locations adjacent to the right-of-way and within the right-of-way in Easton, Glendon and Lower Saucon, Bethlehem, and Fountain Hill. The right-of-way (ROW) is located within the 100-year floodplain in Allentown.
• Wetlands - Rail ROW crosses wetlands and a creek on the approach to the proposed Allentown Station at Banana Joe’s site (former passenger station).
• Historic - Rail ROW is adjacent to the historic Lehigh Canal and is part of the Lehigh River Greenway. (We'd be eliminating a pathway used by numerous south sideresidents for exercise and to get to work at the casino or other shops, forcing them to congest the south side with more automobiles)
• Park lands – The Hugh Moore Historical Park is located adjacent to the ROW on the north side.
• Ecology - The ROW is located within the Lehigh Slopes Natural Area in Williams and the Steel City Slopes Natural Area in Bethlehem. The locally-significant Steel City Slopes are located on a north-facing slope above the Lehigh River in Lower Saucon Township and supports a diverse herb and fern habitat. Proposed work would be contained within already disturbed areas.
• Easton Station - Small area of 100-year floodplain located within ROW on the north side of the alignment.
• Bethlehem Station - Located on former industrial property. Any hazardous materials impacts from the Bethlehem Steel operation would be mitigated by the BethWorks development.
• Allentown Station - Located entirely within 100-year floodplain.
Even more importantly, the expansion of passenger rail will require privately-owned freight lines to cede control of its tracks to accommodate Amtrak. "To do anything to knowingly undermine the fluidity of the freight network is frankly wrongheaded and at odds with the overarching goal of maximizing freight movement, " says Ian Jefferies of the Association of American Railroads.
It completely ignores the importance of freight rail, both to our economy and our environment. Freight rail owns 140,000 miles of track, transports a third of all exports and 40% of our long-distance freight volume. It has become immensely profitable, earning $71 billion in 2019, and its volume is expected to grow 50% by 2050.
Environmentally, it emits about 25% of the pollution you'll find from trucking. It handles what are often called the "middle miles" as intermodal containers are offloaded from ships directly onto trains about 200 cars long and then are passed off to trucks for the final miles.
Expansion of passenger rail, which has never made a profit, will actually result in more congestion because there will be more trucks on the road.
We already have passenger trains going to NYC. It is called Transbridge Bus, and is privately owned.
25 comments:
Bernie, you are right to quote the study. It isn't feasible and we simply can't afford it. We can't afford a Septa link to Philadelphia either. It would be a lot cheaper to purchase an automobile for everyone than to pay for the "pie in the sky program". McClure has too much federal money and to pursue this issue is crazy. Wasn't the Septa rail system in the County turned into a walking/bike path and all the rails removed? If it was a good idea, the private sector would have done this years ago. Rail service to New York has been sufficiently studied and the results are clear. Do not invest in this pipe dream. It would be a bottomless money pit.
Maybe it is time to rethink commuting to work, maybe it would be better to live near where you work, an old fashioned idea. Do commuters really ever do an analysis of the costs of commuting just to get some increased pay. After increased taxes, fuel, insurance, maintenance on the required new car does it really pay off. Not to mention the 3 hours a day lost from your life while driving to N.Y. or N.J.
If it would be profitable to provide rail service to the east someone would have already done it., but it is not profitable and has to be subsidized by the taxpayers who work close to home.
You are free to drive or commute as far as you want, but do it on your dime not from the public pot.
"We already have passenger trains going to NYC. It is called Transbridge Bus, and is privately owned."
Exactly. We also have connecting flights between ABE and Newark. It is United's bus. Interesting from an environmental view, that trains took over canal towpaths and greenways along side rivers. Environmentally, they were very uncool. Suddenly, they're cool. Go figure. Buses get cleaner every day. We also continue to ignore the potential devastation of a gas tanker explosion along the tracks in one of our urban areas. Pipelines would lessen the chances of this happening.
The Lehigh Valley will never support a AAA baseball team. Minor league baseball didn’t work years ago. It won’t work now.
Coming for an AVID RAILFANNER & Ho Model Railroad in my basement it makes 150% sense to bring back Passenger Service. The Lehigh Vally TOP BRASS is looking @ the wrong TRACK's those tracks are for Excursion's. When the Lehigh Vally RR & PENNSY was running back in the 50's 60's 70's both railroad's used Fright Tracks NS currently uses. & NS has just said they would entertain talks on Passenger Service YES Tracks would have to be added in some places but most tracks would not even come close to the areas mentioned. & it's A FACT highways & roads are more crowed now with warehouses & truck traffic it makes total sense to bring back passenger service 800 -1000 persons taking a train to work in NY that's 800 -1000 cars not driving on the road MAKES SENSE TO ME. In the Long Run Passenger Service will pay for itself 100 times over......
It should be an embarrassment the the Lehigh Valley has no passenger rail service to either NYC or Philly. This 2010 report is not very thorough, only explored one potential route, and assessed one very specific proposal, without appearing to examine alternative routes and station locations. Anyone who has been on a bus from the Valley to NYC can also tell you the ridership numbers it came up with are way low.
Of course, a modern passenger rail system will have to be faster than the proposed one, as well. If the trip takes the same amount of time in a car and a train, of course more people are going to take a car.
"Maybe it is time to rethink commuting to work, maybe it would be better to live near where you work, "
Excellent point. These people usually spend three hours or more on the road to get to their jobs. Their God is $. The LV is little more than a bedroom to them. What this is about is forcing the rest of us to pay for them to continue their commutes. Most of them fled NJ bc they hate to pay taxes. They can do what they want, but I have no intention of subsidizing them or that kind of lifestyle.
Rail is a great way but you have to comit to it. It cannot be the adhoc BS that it has been since the 1800's. Passengers on the rail lines through the lehigh valley and to the Scranton wilkes barre valley's were after thoughts. Go back and look at the passenger traffic. There were passenger cars attached to freight movements. That was the way which they offest the passenger costs. And then in those days rail stopped at many small towns periodically. And if it was not for freight it was to refuel or re water. Not ever town ever day but there was a cycle to it. Today freight rail wants to move 300 miles or more before stopping. That blows right past the lehigh valley for sure.
" It would be a lot cheaper to purchase an automobile for everyone"
How about we expand bus service and remove the stigma associated with it? Encourage people to use alternative transportation?
Buy everyone a bicycle and ride with Bernie!
Bernie @10:43 am: The train has left the station. We DO find the lifestyle to which the New Jersey and New York transplants have become accustomed. The loss of most farmland to housing or apartments to attract commuters to the Wawas on every corner to fuel them up for their commute. Natives of the area have seen a huge lifestyle shift due to the influx of transplants and planning and zoning boards just don’t care. My 15-minute commute oftentimes becomes a half an hour due to traffic and I shudder to think how much longer it will be when the apartments are shoved into Easton Avenue across from Giant and by the Butztown Post Office. I grew up in this area and have a vested interest in my community. Sadly, the neighbors who have moved in from NJ/NY don’t have the same respect.
Extending passenger rail service to Phillipsburg would be more cost-effective than trying to connect Allentown and Bethlehem. There could be bus service from several directions to a Phillipsburg train station. NJ Transit owns its own rail line to Phillipsburg, so there would be no conflict with freight rail. The further you extend the line, the more bridge upgrades and other improvements are needed, and the fewer new passengers per mile would be added.
Extending passenger rail service to Quakertown or Perkasie would also be much more cost-effective than trying to serve Allentown. The rail line that was used for Septa service to Bethlehem circa 1983 is now used for the Saucon and South Bethlehem rail trails. For a short time, there was passenger rail to Allentown from Phila. circa 1980, but it died because of low ridership. It is inefficient to connect Phila. to Allentown by passenger rail because of the need to go around the South Mountain, and because there are no existing freight lines available that could be used for passenger service. Freight traffic between Allentown and Phila. goes through Reading.
"The Lehigh Valley will never support a AAA baseball team. Minor league baseball didn’t work years ago. It won’t work now."
Cost of the rail system: $1 Billion
Cost of Coca Cola Park: $50 Million
Rail ridership - 800/day (~300,000/12 months)
Baseball attendance - ~350,000/6 months (down from 600K a few years ago)
But other than that, exactly the same.
Mike McFadden, Easton. The Lehigh Valley Planning study, which you referenced, has an objective of improving mobility of Lehigh Valley residents to Northern New Jersey and New York. The study covers bus improvements as well as the potential for rail service. Unfortunately, the bus improvements have been lost as attention is improperly directed to rail. The deficiencies for rail are obvious. Where will the funding come from to meet the annual operating costs? Or, how do you displace Norfolk Southern freight trains to unused Lehigh Valley RR tracks and a bridge crossing the Delaware with unknown rehab or rebuild costs? Or, NJ Transit’s question as to the need for a duplicate passenger station in Easton less than a mile away from a rebuilt and improved Philipsburg station? That last dilemma comes from a study completed by NJ Transit in 2011, one year after the Lehigh Valley Study. The 2011 study demonstrates a plan of action to improve commuter service on highway, bus and rail in New Jersey. Feasibility is the goal while economy governs decisions. Passenger facilities are planned so they can serve rail and bus. All options are pursued to utilize existing rights of way, provide for passing tracks and entertain other routes such as the former DL and W route through Washington and Hackettstown. That’s a study. As an Easton resident I would think that it would be in our community’s best interest to pursue a passenger facility west of the former passenger station. Parking, handicapped access, safety are key objectives. The former station is an 19th century relic, a former freight basement terminal converted for passenger usage when the passenger facility was razed. A proposed facility could be used for buses and carpooling with a reserved intent for rail.
I have a complaint and it is directed to those in the media and government and business. You need to do your homework. The obstacles to rail service are too obvious and probably impossible to overcome. If you are going to promote the concept, always begin with how you have figured overcoming the known obstacles. And, I will give you another. The Lehigh Valley has no power in congressional appropriations. Look at I 78. Three lanes becomes two when you enter the Lehigh Valley. A monument to our congressional power! How do you ever expect to receive an appropriation that will cover not only building the railway but the annual operating costs as well? Stop the tease. We go through this exercise every three months and excite all the old ladies’ knitting clubs that they will take a train to see a Broadway matinee. (Someone should tell them that renting a limo and splitting the costs is cheaper.)
We are 30 trillion in debt and inflation is at a 41yr high. the Producer Price index (PPI) is over 11%. This is a pipe dream. No money for this
Mike McFadden nailed it.
The last passenger service thru A-B-E ended in 1967. Passenger service was brought back as far as Phillipsburg about 1974 and was ended in 1983 due to low patronage and NJT was using new modern equipment at the time. I love trains but bringing back passenger service to the A-B-E area is a looser. Not enough people will use it and more are working from home.
I'm opening up a hot air balloon service to NYC. Lamont can provide free hot air for the venture and call it a county stimulus. It'll be the most useful he's been in years.
Mike, forget about the problem with displacing the norfolk southern line. The point is we need MORE TRACKS. Freight and passenger. Bethlehem is now full of distribution warehouses that barely seem to use the railroad. Those trucks they use instead cost the ABE area tons of money in infrastructure costs, and really tax the road system, aside from just being inefficient. Is it going to be tough to find places to put new rails? Sure. But that is because we allowed our cities to be built for cars and at low density, both trends that need to be reversed in the long run.
Totally agree about expanding bus service. A friend works in an area where he must take the bus to Allentown, 1hr ride, wait 30 minutes for his transfer, then it's another 45 minutes to get from Allentown transfer Center to the closest stop to his job, which is a 20 minute walk. Pretty much a 25 minute or so car ride takes hours.
In denser population centers, bus service seems to be pretty good. The farther away you get, the more difficult it is to find a bus. It takes me about an hour to go from Naz to the courthouse with no transfers. It is actually less than an hour from Beth to Nazareth. That is really good. But unfortunately, areas like the slate belt or northern Lehigh are tough. I don't blame LANTA. If more people start riding, the routes will increase. But one way to increase ridership is by making more routes possible. I imagine it's pretty tricky to get it right.
Where my friend goes there is a service that would get him there in less time, but for whatever reason Lanta only runs it on a Saturday, while the other similar routes that provide the service are during the week. Even when I called to confirm, the customer service agent and manager both, could not understand why that wouldn't be provided during the week when people may need it most.
Completely disagree, Bernie. Properly managed passenger rail (at proper speeds & frequency) would be an attractive alternative to unpredictable I-78. The environmental reasons you cite somehow haven't been obstacles to the 150+ years of freight & passenger rail along these same tracks. NS was previously opposed but I've not heard that they still are, & remember that from P-burg on east, trains would operate on tracks NJT currently uses for passenger rail anyway(Clinton-Newark is NOW used by them, P-burg-Clinton is avail. for future use, bypassing the heavily-used NS freight tracks there).
Take two lanes out of the route 22 expansion concept and put tracks down instead or even elevated ones. It would cover from Fogelsville to the Delaware river. Then you could put bus spur routes form each station.
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