ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The next step in the lengthy process of restoring passenger rail in the Lehigh Valley is waiting on a check from the state.

In December, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) announced it had secured the $400,000 in funding it needs to move forward with Phase II of the Passenger Rail Analysis.

Thanks to a push from State Senator Nick Miller (D-District 14), $300,000 of that tally was worked into the 2025-2026 Pennsylvania state budget. Lehigh County agreed to pick up the tab for the rest.

On Wednesday, during a meeting of the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study (LVTS), the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) arm of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC), Becky Bradley said it’s unclear when they’ll be receiving an official agreement for the state funding.

Bradley is the executive director of the LVPC and secretary for both the LVTS technical and coordinating committees. “We’re going to have to circle the airport and wait to land on this one until we know more,” she said, adding that, as soon as the agreements are in place, “we’ll mobilize as soon as we are able to.”

In 2024, an initial Lehigh Valley Passenger Rail Analysis released by a PennDOT-commissioned consultant, WSP, laid out a 14-step, 10-to-12-year process for getting trains moving again, with a price tag ranging from $552 million to $841 million.

Phase II will include four components tied to the feasibility of the project, including identifying the operator of the rail network.

Also during the LVTS meeting on Wednesday, participants heard a presentation from Barbara Moreno of the Federal Railroad Administration about the Corridor Identification and Development (CID) program, which was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

CID is focused on developing intercity passenger rail, Moreno said: “We’re specifically focused on corridors outside of the Northeast corridor. So, we’re really looking to build the national network. And through building that national network, we’ll guide that development of intercity passenger rail.”

Corridors that are accepted into CID are guided through a three-step process toward implementation that includes federal grant funding.

In 2023, proposed passenger lines running from New York City to Scranton, with stops in the Poconos, and from Reading to Philadelphia, were accepted into the program. The Lehigh Valley proposal is not yet part of CID, but Phase II of the Passenger Rail Analysis, which is expected to take 12 to 16 months, will hopefully lead to that, LVPC spokesperson Matt Assad told 69 News.

Passenger train service from New York to the Lehigh Valley ended in 1967; the last passenger train to Philadelphia ran in 1979.