The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority has received approval to start spending the $750,000 in federal funding it was awarded last year, writes Karen Shuey for The Times Herald.

The money will be used to help cover the cost of performing a study on the restoration of passenger rail service between Reading and Philadelphia to the existing freight lines.

The funds had not been used previously because the authority was waiting to hear if its proposal to restore passenger rail service would be admitted into a Federal Railroad Administration program.

The program will distribute millions of dollars from the federal infrastructure bill to build new service corridors.

That funding is essential to bring service back to the region, said Tom Frawley, authority executive director.

It is expected that the Federal Railroad Administration will announce if the project has been accepted in September.

However, Frawley said it came out at a meeting with representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration that the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority can move forward with planning ahead of the decision.

“It’s basically a head start on the program,” he said.

Read more about the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority in The Times Herald.

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Check out cool freight trains crossing the Schuylkill River.