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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 11-07-2020, 06:36 PM
 
Location: Earth
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So now that Biden is president-elect, will the lackawanna cutoff be restored?
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Old 11-08-2020, 08:43 AM
 
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Even if the cutoff were restored, train speeds would be abysmally slow. Express trains would have to compete on 2 track right of ways with New Jersey commuter trains and then there is the slog from Stroudsburg to Scranton with its curves and steep grades. I haven't even mentioned the Hudson River tunnels, which are at capacity.


What is needed is high speed rail. That would require a major reordering of national priorities from war to peace.
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Old 11-08-2020, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Saylorsburg, PA
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30+ year old dream.....
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Old 11-08-2020, 10:15 AM
 
599 posts, read 498,093 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidWebb View Post
30+ year old dream.....
LOL, I remember some of the scummy Pocono homebuilders, who would advertise that the Poconos were just a year or two away from having commuter rail. You will be able to hop on, at a station a short drive from your new home, and head straight to NYC. That was 30 years ago.
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Old 11-08-2020, 10:35 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,780 posts, read 18,121,941 times
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Here is a good Wikipedia article on the Lackawanna Cutoff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackawanna_Cut-Off. Towards the bottom of that link you will see current progress on restoration and I quote:

"In 2011, after a nearly three-decade effort to reactivate the line, NJ Transit launched the Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project. The first phase aimed to link Port Morris Junction to Andover, New Jersey (Andover station), 7.3 miles (11.7 km) away. By December 2011, about 1 mile (1.6 km) of track had been installed from Port Morris Junction west to Stanhope, New Jersey. As of 2019, about 4.25 miles (6.84 km) of rail, in three unconnected sections, has been laid between Port Morris and Lake Lackawanna, and most of the right-of-way between Port Morris Junction and the lake had been cleared of trees and debris. All environmental issues have been resolved. Based on current projections, the earliest that commuter operations could begin would be 2021."

My biggest problem, when this subject is mentioned, is that many do not look at the existing state of the track or bridges/viaducts. You can try to follow the old tracks on Google Earth and they simply disappear. For those that commute to NJ take a good look at the state of that one large Viaduct that you go under on I-80 four miles into NJ from the DWGB. It is crumbling, it was built in 1929 when we had steel plants and large concrete plants close. It was built for a different generation and now restricts any lane widening on I-80. It will have to be torn down or replaced at sometime in the future, maybe sooner than later. But if we really wanted high speed passenger service the routes for all those old rail lines might not be the best location, they were built for different times and use.

I just feel this is a pipe dream and nobody will ever see this kind of investment in our infrastructure. I would much rather see us focus on lane expansion on I-80 or even a bypass to speed interstate travel through our area. We love to plan and research but we are not great on doing anymore. That takes conviction and I do not think it will make any difference who is running the show.
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Old 11-09-2020, 06:16 AM
 
Location: Saylorsburg, PA
1,935 posts, read 3,141,385 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wharton View Post
LOL, I remember some of the scummy Pocono homebuilders, who would advertise that the Poconos were just a year or two away from having commuter rail. You will be able to hop on, at a station a short drive from your new home, and head straight to NYC. That was 30 years ago.

Gene Percudani was the biggest one of them all with that scam....he had billboards and newspaper ads talking about this....I believe he was also the one behind the "1-800-WHY-RENT" ads....they would state something to the effect of: "Why rent when you can have a home of your own for less than you pay in rent here in the beautiful Pocono Mountains. Only 90 minutes from NYC on the DWG!!" Notice he and everyone else would say "90 minutes" as opposed to 1-1/2 hours because it was more enticing to hear it in minutes not hours!!
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Old 11-09-2020, 07:38 AM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
8,052 posts, read 7,419,522 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dangerous-Boy View Post
So now that Biden is president-elect, will the lackawanna cutoff be restored?
Nope. Self-driving electric cars and "working from home" are the future now.

State your reasons for needing for rail service to/from Scranton and we'll talk.
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Old 11-09-2020, 10:28 AM
 
Location: Saylorsburg, PA
1,935 posts, read 3,141,385 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtab4994 View Post
State your reasons for needing for rail service to/from Scranton and we'll talk.

A topic that can go on far more longer than its been proposed.....
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Old 11-09-2020, 12:48 PM
 
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They haven't even built that Andover train station yet. It was due by 2022 a couple years ago. Now it's being pushed back to probably 2030. Some call it a train. Seems like a slow boat to China to me.
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Old 11-09-2020, 01:32 PM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
8,052 posts, read 7,419,522 times
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The entire Lackawanna Cutoff project was started on August 1, 1908 and opened on Christmas Eve 1911. They used men and mules to do most of the work.

Today you can't even complete a Snail Darter Impact Study in less than 5 years.
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