The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority is on the verge of completing the first phase of a federal program that is providing a critical boost to the effort to restore train service between Reading and Philadelphia.
At the monthly meeting of the authority Monday, executive director Thomas Frawley said he plans on submitting the final documents associated with the service plan to the Federal Rail Administration by Friday. Completion of the service plan marks the end of the first phase of the Corridor Identification and Development Program.
With its acceptance into the program last December, the authority received $500,000 to develop the scope and costs of completing a service plan that would examine ridership and revenue forecasts, capital programming and an operational analysis.
Frawley said that once the service plan is officially approved by the Federal Railroad Administration the documents will become available for the general public to view.
“We are some weeks away from that, but they will definitely become public,” he said.
The service plan is just the first phase in what is likely to be a long process.
Once the plan is complete, the next phase will be the preliminary engineering phase that will demonstrate to the authority whether the project is feasible. If it is, it will move to the implementation phase, which includes final design and starting the service.
Also at the meeting, the authority voted unanimously to extend Frawley’s contract through September 2026.
Frawley was initially hired by the authority in September 2022.
He has more than 40 years of experience in transportation systems planning, development, engineering, operation and management. As principal of his own consulting firm, he has worked with organizations including the Virginia Railway Express, Amtrak and the California High Speed Rail Authority.
The new contract will also come with a $20 an hour wage increase. Frawley will now be paid $150 an hour for up to 30 hours a week.
Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach, authority chairman, said he’s grateful for the leadership Frawley has provided over the past two years.
“He has been a great, great asset to our team,” he said. “He has been there virtually every time I have reached out with a question or a need. I have appreciated his involvement and participation in meetings and events related to the railroad in each of our different counties.”
Brian O’Leary, executive director of the Chester County Planning Commission, echoed those sentiments. He also pointed out that a good chunk of Frawley’s wages is reimbursable through the Corridor Identification and Development Program.
The next meeting of the authority, which regularly gathers virtually, will take place in person in Reading.
Authority members are inviting members of the public to join them Oct. 28 at the Franklin Street Station to learn more about the joint effort by Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties to establish the groundwork for the proposed plan to bring rail service back to the region after a four-decade absence.
The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. at 100 S. Seventh St.
Authority members will provide an update on the process. They will also receive the latest reports from various committee members about the work those groups are doing when it comes to finance, marketing and public relations, planning, personnel and community engagement. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment as well.
The meeting will include a virtual option for those unable to be there.
Due to the logistics of having nine members representing three different counties gather together in one place each month, authority members agreed it would be more convenient to meet virtually. Those meetings are also open to the public to watch.
For more information about the meeting, visit gosrpra.com.
