Berks Alliance will host a community forum on “What’s Happening with the Restoration of Passenger Rail Service” on Thursday, April 25 at 11:30 a.m. via Zoom.
There is a lot of news about the efforts to bring passenger rail service back to Reading. Christian Leinbach, the Chair of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, and Tom Frawley, Executive Director of the Authority, will share recent news about the SRPRA. The Federal Rail Administration has included this project in their Corridor Identification and Development Program, which makes the project eligible for federal funding. The project has also been included in Amtrak’s strategic plan and the Pennsylvania State Rail Plan. The authority has already received some funding from the state and federal governments to support planning efforts.
The Greater Reading Chamber Alliance formed a work group to explore the impact the station location could have on the city of Reading. A. J. Thackrah, from Stantec, will share their report on the possible locations for the train station in Reading and the challenges and opportunities that each would present. Pankaj “PJ” Jobanputra and Peter Simone will present their preliminary work to help plan how the restoration of passenger rail service could impact development in the city.
Restoring passenger rail service has had a significant economic and community impact in other places where train service has been developed. Understanding the potential impact on Reading will allow local government and the broader community to plan for how this can shape the city, creating a more vibrant community and targeting development and infrastructure without displacing the people who live and work there now.
Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkdeiurzIqG9Q1SpZU5RawlvXKXfWap1OX. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
