Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority

The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna and Monroe counties to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The designated freight operator of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority lines is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and tourism operator is Steamtown National Historic Site.

Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority
Overview
Current operatorDelaware-Lackawanna Railroad
HeadquartersScranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
LocaleLackawanna County
Monroe County
Northampton County
Wayne County
Dates of operationMay 2006 (2006-May)–present
PredecessorsLackawanna Railroad Authority
Monroe County Rail Authority
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Length95 miles (153 km)
Other
Websitepnrra.org

One of its primary objectives is to re-establish rail passenger service with New Jersey Transit between Scranton, Pennsylvania and Hoboken, New Jersey by way of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, with connecting service to Manhattan. Amtrak is also a possibility for passenger rail service to Scranton by way of the Lackawanna Cut-Off.

History

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The PNRRA was formed in May of 2006, when Lackawanna and Monroe counties agreed to merge their rail authorities. The consensus reached was that the operation of the railroad needed to be a multi-county venture and that a regional approach was necessary as trackage begins and ends outside individual county boundaries. In addition, it was felt that the pooling of resources was necessary in order to operate a railroad in a very competitive environment and, conversely, to obtain the funding necessary to operate a railroad from the State and Federal governments.

The Lackawanna County Railroad Authority was established in 1985 had over 16 million dollars in assets and operates more than 66 miles (106 km) of track in Lackawanna, Wayne and Monroe Counties. The Monroe County Rail Authority was created in 1980, and controlled over 12 million dollars in assets, with trackage totaling 29 miles (47 km).

In 2007 the Agency received the 5th Annual John J. Luciania Award for regionalism from the NEPA Alliance, the Agency that serves as the RPO and MPO for the two regions that are working together to implement passenger rail.[1]

Trackage

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The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority owns the following lines:

Staff

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  • Lawrence C. Malski (President)
  • Charlene W. Doyle (Vice President of Administration)

References

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