seems like all the talk about this has died down.  i know a lot of other states got funding for their own rail projects, what about NEPA? 

maybe it's for the best. i thought mr. Biden would have pulled some strings for his hometown.

Tom,
  The Lackawanna Cut-Off is that section of Track that Goes from Scranton To Analomink. This part of the project has already had an Environmental Impact Study Done. The Study was successful as the Environmental Impact will be negative. The project will cost 550 million and so far there is no Funding.

It seems like a major obstacle to this part of the rail project receiving funding is that it would not be "high speed" service.  I would love to see a way to increase to speed of this section of service, and then to get proper funding. 

Tom, I've heard a lot of people with your concern about the people this might attract to the area, and the potential for it to impinge on our "small town living."  The truth is, more people are already coming by car and by bus.  Our region is still what we make of it, and we need to maintain the priorities of safety, comfort, and family values here.  At least rail travel is convenient and safe, and would alleviate the heavy traffic that exists on I80 between Tannersville and the Delaware Water Gap.  But until the rail service is faster than driving or riding the bus, it's just not going to happen!

Hmm.. I would hope the Walmart statement would not be true.  I currently work in NYC and none of my co-workers who live in CT, NY state or NJ are fond of Wal-mart or any franchises.  I lived in the NYC area for 4 years and I think that is what makes me appreciate local business and seek out small shops and restaurants in NEPA.  Growing up in NEPA, our favorite restaurant was TGI Friday's and Olive Garden.. and now it is a rare occurence to see me there.   Maybe I am just optimistic for an alternative to Martz and driving 120 miles. 

The multiple Wal-Marts in Pittston is not a result of NYC commuters, though.  Wal-Mart must see an opportunity for more business with the current population as it stands and presents commercial land owners with offers that are difficult to pass up.

this train is going to happen-sooner or later.  and depending on the speed of the train, it will change our area as we now know it.  some changes will be good, some bad.  i can understand both sides. the people who grew up here do not want a flood of city people in the area just to get a cheap place to live and then take the train to the city to work. others think since there are no jobs here, we need this for people to find work.  we shall see how it all plays out.

High speed rail rail that can cut travel times in half is one thing, and even then I just don't think there is a need or demand for it here especially for the outrageous cost (a quarter billion dollars!) and that's just the up front cost not including ongoing maintainence cost and personal cost! I read somewhere a while back that they did a study, and the conclusion was TEN PEOPLE would ride this train daily to commute from Scranton for work. Is $500 million dollars+ really worth it? This would be the biggest pork barrel project in modern history! It would be slower then it would take to get to NYC by bus or car. That is like paying $500 million dollars to go back to the horse and buggy after the automobile has surpassed it. Honestly, who is gonna take a train that takes much longer and has various stops as oppossed to a bus or car that doesn't have any of those issues? After the nostalgia factor wheres off... the answer is nobody. They may take this train a few times at first just to "check it out" but after that they will opt for the cheaper, more convenient way. And like I said eirlier the $500 million is just the "projected" up front cost (and we all know by the time it is built it'll be much closer to 1 billion) and all for what? Ten people to commute to NYC daily plus a handful of tourist and daytrippers? What about the maintanence cost? Who pays to maintian the rail? Who pays to replace old trains and engines,Who pays to upgrade the train station? I tink the people in Scranton who support this thing are doing it for all the wrong reasons. They just want to look like "big city" folk come hell or high water, and they don't care if there is no legitimate need, or demand. They just want to say "Hey, look at what we have here in Scranton!" That's it! That is the reasoning as far as I can tell. Scranton isn't a big city, it is a small city and a shrinking city, and if Scranton's train service wasn't able to stay running decades ago when the city was twice the size as it is today...what makes you all think it will succeed today with a much smaller population and competition fron cars and busses? The money that gets p*$$ed away in this country on nonsense is unbelievable! It is pork projects like this that have gotten this country into the mess it is in today. That is why this country is so in debt. Let a charity or a private organization raise the money for this. I won't use it, and I don't want to pay for it!