Wilkes-Barre and PennDOT Officials meet to Discuss Future of Passenger Rail

Today, Mayor George C. Brown, members of his Administration, Councilman Tony Brooks, and City Controller Darren Snyder, held a second, supplemental meeting with PennDOT Representatives from Harrisburg and Dunmore. The state officials also included Rail Study consultants, retained by PennDOT,  to address various rail expansion possibilities in the Commonwealth precipitated by the funding setoff for rail support in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act passed by Congress recently.

The meeting lasted an hour and a half and was pursuant to PennDOT’s commitment to proceed with preliminary study and review of feasibility of passenger rail service and connections to Wilkes-Barre from several possible cities in PA.  The study will be fully funded by PennDOT.

The purpose of this meeting was to brainstorm with city officials their vision for the future of the city and for passenger rail. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled to review preliminary ideas based on this meeting and data acquired by the consultants and is anticipated to occur within 60-75 days.