Could passenger rail access make its way to Centre County? Officials hope to conduct 2025 study
While it could still be multiple years away and many hurdles remain, passenger rail access — such as Amtrak — might one day be coming to Centre County.
The Centre Region Council of Governments is looking to conduct a study in 2025 for how feasible a passenger rail access system in Centre County would be, so there are a lot of obstacles to overcome and questions to answer before discussing concrete plans. This is simply the first step of a long process.
But, if one of the more prominent visions is realized, residents could one day see a shuttle system that uses existing railroad tracks and operates from State College to other close Amtrak stations in Tyrone and Lewistown.
Again, however, a lot of work remains to be done. The study, which still needs to secure $3,042 before moving forward, would start no earlier than July 1, 2025. It’s then expected to last until the following year.
After that, the COG could then begin looking at what type of rail programs could be created. And any development wouldn’t come until even later after that.
“As far as my knowledge extends, no new rail is going to be constructed,” said James Saylor, COG’s Principal Transportation Planner. “Everything is going to be done on pre-existing tracks. We really just would like to see Centre County residents have an easier time linking up to Amtrak to try and make traveling more convenient for them.”
No costs have been provided yet to determine how much this shuttle service would cost, as the project is still just a concept. But municipal governments in the Centre Region have already greeted the idea with enthusiasm.
State College Borough Council recently reviewed COG’s 2025 Program Plan — which included the passenger rail study, along with other projects/studies to secure funding for in 2025 — and most council members appeared to be excited about potentially having passenger rail access.
Before Borough Manager Thomas Fountaine could finish reading the prompt regarding the study on July 8, most council members had already interjected with a “Yes!”
The discussion of a potential local passenger rail comes after Amtrak recently announced a $122 million investment in track improvements along the Harrisburg Line — a line that hasn’t seen any track improvements since the 1950s.
In 2023, it was also announced that Pennsylvania was to receive another $143 million from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program to support the Pennsylvania Pennsylvanian Rail Modernization Project. This funding is meant to improve Amtrak railways in the western half of the Commonwealth, specifically from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg.
Once all member municipalities have gotten their comments back to the COG regarding the study, it can then begin to consider these comments to decide whether the study should be included in the preparation of the 2025 COG budget.
If the rail study is included with the budget, COG can then begin work on securing the necessary funding.
