The blow from the halted King of Prussia Rail project may be ameliorated somewhat by a milestone development for a separate Montgomery-County relevant transit idea: the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority (SRPRA). An item on Berks Community Television carried the story, of interest locally because of its proposed Pottstown, Royersford, Phoenixville and Valley Forge stops.

SRPRA recently submitted a project-related application to the Corridor Identification and Development Program (CIDP) of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

An approval releases federal funding for the next stages in the proposed train.

“[The CDIP] presents funding for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore passenger rail service from Reading and Philadelphia and beyond,” said Tom Frawley, interim executive director of the SRPRA.

If approved, the SRPRA would receive an initial $500,000 grant toward Step 1 of the CIDP initiative.

The SRPRA would utilize those funds to work with the FRA to develop a scope for the project and begin to prepare a service development plan that includes:

• Ridership and revenue forecasts
• Capital programming
• Operational analysis

The SRPRA would also be able to begin negotiations with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern about utilizing existing tracks.

More on this project’s progress is at Berks Community Television.

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A video explaining the need for the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail.