(The following article by John Hilton was posted on the Carlisle Sentinel website on December 13.)
CARLISLE, Pa. — Modern Transit Partnership (MTP) officials accepted a $2.8 million check Thursday from Congressman Tim Holden, D-17, in support of the Corridor One regional rail project.
As part of the 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President George W. Bush Wednesday, Congress included $2 million in the Federal Transit Administration New Starts capital improvement grants program and $550,000 in the Railroad Administration grade-crossing safety program for Corridor One.
The funding will be used to complete preliminary engineering activities and continued design work, MTP officials say, as well as to modify the tracks at the Harrisburg Transportation Center for appropriate safety measures in preparation for regional rail. MTP also received a $218,250 Veterans Administration-Housing and Urban Development grant to support administrative operations.
“There is a growing sense of excitement about the vitality that this transportation alternative will bring southcentral Pennsylvania, and this funding puts us on the right track toward realizing all the benefits that regional rail can offer,” MTP Chairman Jerry Morrison said.
Holden also presented Capital Area Transit (CAT) with a $1 million check to help fund the purchase of four new buses. Specifically, CAT plans to purchase four 35- to 40-foot buses that will replace 1988 Gillig models.
“These new fleet upgrades will enable us to make traveling by bus more desirable for a wide range of passengers,” CAT Chairman Dick Miller said. “We look forward to getting these vehicles on the road and building their operation into a multimodal transportation system — linking cars, buses, trains and airplanes — that will service Corridor One.”
Corridor One represents the initial leg of a regional rail system in southcentral Pennsylvania. Trains will run between east Mechanicsburg through Harrisburg to Lancaster, with 11 rail station stops.
Construction starting
Preliminary engineering began in 2003 and is expected to be completed early next year. Design and construction is slated to begin in mid-2005, with initial service between Harrisburg and Lancaster launching in 2007. Service between east Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg is expected in 2008 and service to Carlisle in 2010.
The MTP is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes public transportation with the ultimate goal of bringing regional rail to southcentral Pennsylvania. Launched in 1997 by the CAT board of directors, this partnership is made up of business, community and government leaders who are striving to develop a regional congestion management plan that will meet tomorrow’s transportation and infrastructure needs.
CAT provides public transportation with 28 bus routes and 17 park-and-ride locations throughout the region.