Lackawanna Cutoff

I did some research today to confirm some rumors I have been hearing. I knew NJ Transit owned the line. But now it seems that they are finally making progress with reviving the line.

Lackawanna Cutoff

Background
In the early part of the 20th century, the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad constructed a level-graded route from Roxbury, NJ to just over the Delaware River to serve as a faster, more direct route between existing rail lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Lackawanna Cutoff, as this route came to be known, includes a series of unique structural features, viaducts and massive fill embankments through the deep valleys of this region. In the 1970s, Conrail, the eventual receiver of this property, abandoned the right of way and the track was removed. The objective of the Lackawanna Cutoff project is to reinstitute passenger rail service on the abandoned rail right of way of the Lackawanna Cutoff and over existing freight right of way in Pennsylvania. The reinstituted rail line would provide service from Scranton to Hoboken, or to New York Penn Station via transfer to MidTown Direct service, by connecting to the existing NJ TRANSIT Montclair-Boonton and Morris & Essex Lines.


Project Scope
The project includes complete reconstruction of the line including track and signal improvements to approximately 88 miles of right of way, new stations, parking facilities, a train storage yard and additional rail rolling stock. It is assumed that NJ TRANSIT would operate the new service. Proposed stations would serve Blairstown and Andover in New Jersey and Scranton, Tobyhanna, Pocono Mountain, Analomink, East Stroudsburg, and Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania. The first phase of the project is a 7.3 mile segment from Port Morris Yard to a new passenger station at Andover, NJ.

Project Cost
$551 million (2006 Estimate). This estimate does not include property acquisition costs. The full project is not funded. The estimated cost of the first phase to Andover is approximately $37 million. The first phase is fully funded using a combination of FTA and state Transportation Trust Funds funds.

Current Status
NJ TRANSIT's Board of Directors authorized consultant work for conceptual design, completion of the environmental assessment (EA) and preparation of the documentation required by the Federal Transit Administration for new transit lines. The State of New Jersey completed the purchase of the Lackawanna Cutoff property in May 2001.

www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=Project019To

Take a look at the attached file to see how this addition the the NJ Transit rail line will help connect NY to PA

Anyone see the Viaduct with the tracks still on it? I was looking through my bookmarks and found this.

history.gsmrrclub.org/history5i.html