MTR 285, Funding Still Pending for Lackawanna Cut-Off

Issue 285

September 11, 2000

Funding Still Pending for Lackawanna Cut-Off - Will FTA Support Sprawl Rail? -

The Associated Press and the Jersey Journal reported last week that New Jersey and Pennsylvania are still unable to resolve how to divide funding and operating responsibility for the Lackawanna Cut-off commuter rail line. Eligibility for an initial $5.3 million in federal funds for preliminary engineering as well as for the larger New Starts grant requires the states to shoulder at least 20% of its estimated $180 million cost.

Pennsylvania's Pocono Record reported on August 19^th that an anticipated high-level meeting between rail officials from the two states scheduled for August 22nd in Trenton had been abruptly canceled by NJ DOT. The agency is said to have bowed out of discussions until a law suit over right-of-way takings for the rail line is resolved in September.

Even after a bi-state cost-sharing arrangement is reached, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) could halt progress by withholding a "favorable" rating'. As a part of the "Circle of Mobility," the Lackawanna Cutoff was exempted in TEA-21 from the strict land use, cost effectiveness, and mobility improvement bar set for other New Starts projects. But if subject to these standards, the Cut-off would not be likely to make the grade.

The proposed rail line connects Scranton, Pennsylvania with the end of NJTransit's Boonton and Morristown Lines along existing track. In the main, the rail runs through small towns in sparsely populated areas known for their natural beauty, like the Pocono Mountains, the Delaware Water Gap, and the New Jersey Highlands. By constructing several new stations and bringing service to stations long abandoned, the Lackawann Cutoff would create a transit route for NYC-area bound commuters from rural Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties via the Boonton Line terminus in Hoboken. While the service is unlikely to draw large numbers of current residents, it would encourage urban-dwelling commuters to migrate to some of the state's most environmentally sensitive and largest remaining undeveloped tracts.

In comparison, other "Circle of Mobility" projects like the Newark-Elizabeth Light Rail and the Hudson Bergen Light Rail are exemplary in their high projected riders per mile, connection to other transit service, and urban location (MTR #281).

A Major Investment Study for the Lackawanna Cutoff commuter line is complete and should be submitted to the FTA after approval by the project's technical advisory committee. A ratings decision is expected before February of 2001, the deadline for the release of the preliminary engineering funds.