On December 17th, members of the Reading-Berks Association of REALTORS® Commercial and Industrial Council met with David Myers and John Weidenhammer of the Berks Alliance to discuss the Alliance’s recent study on restoring passenger rail between the Cities of Philadelphia and Reading.
The last train to Philadelphia left Reading on June 30th, 1981. Since then, many studies have been conducted on the possibility of bringing rail service back. The most recent study conducted earlier this year by the Berks Alliance took a look at not only the financial feasibility of restoring rail to Reading, but projected demand and economic impact that such a project would have. In total, the entire project would cost an estimated $356 million, and cost $20 million annually. A previous study, conducted in 1999, estimated a price tag of $2 billion.
However, the study found that these costs would absolutely be worth it. Estimated current and future ridership would allow the rail to run at a profit, with a one-way ticket costing as little as $9. All in all, the Berks Alliance estimates more than $600 million in development and $1.08 billion in increased property values between 2025 and 2054 along the rail corridor.
However, obstacles remain. Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation, the current owners of the existing track, would need to come to an agreement over the Right-of-Way for use of the track from Norristown to Reading. Funding would also need to be arranged for the project itself, and a first major step in obtaining that funding would be for PennDOT to include Reading in their Passenger Rail Strategic Plan, which could have major implications on the project’s eligibility for federal or state funding. Previous drafts of the plan included Reading under a list of projects “not currently funded for implementation.”
Despite these obstacles, John Weidenhammer and the Berks Alliance remain . In the absence of federal funding, there are more local solutions available. “The project would pay for itself in economic development,” stated Weidenhammer. “That means that options like Tax-Increment Funding could be on the table.”
The Reading-Berks Association of REALTORS® and the Berks Alliance will continue to work with elected officials to promote the project in any way possible, and to advance policies that encourage transit-oriented development.