The Lehigh Valley isn’t going to get passenger train service, not even if somebody shows up with a $1 billion check tomorrow.
Sure, I could be wrong. It’s happened before, but history is on my side.
So I shouldn’t bother to write this blurb, and you shouldn’t read it.
You have been warned!
A study of train service focused on potential lines to Reading, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
First, let’s dispense with Reading. There is zero value in having a train to Berks County. Strike “The Pretzel City” from the record.
Now, as was pointed out to me yesterday, the study said more people commute to Philadelphia than to New York. Maybe true, but that is an apples-to-oranges comparison.
I used to commute to New York City. I have spent thousands of hours in planes, trains and automobiles, and I’ve ridden trains and subways in several countries. That gives me some perspective on this.
Here’s the thing about the Big Apple versus the City of Brother Love:
Most people who commute to New York City work in Manhattan, and most of them work anywhere from the Financial District up through Midtown, to about 59th Street.
That is about a 6-mile stretch from The Battery at the southern tip of the island up to Central Park.
When a commuter arrives by train in Penn Station, there are three direct subway lines (the 1, 2 and 3) and underground access to the A-C-E lines. Go outside from the Seventh Avenue side and walk a couple blocks (I usually go past Macy’s) and the N, Q, R, B, D and F are available.
Yes, I’ve done this more than a few times. Every step, every second matters to commuters.
So upon arrival at Penn Station, 32nd Street, most commuters can catch the subway uptown or downtown. That part of Manhattan is not too wide and transit is focused on uptown/downtown movement. Many people can walk to work. I did when I got in early.
There are exceptions who work outside of the lower half of Manhattan Island, particularly people in the building trades. I knew one stalwart who’d ride in with me on the 4:10 a.m. bus, then get aboard a van to the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens. Great guy, he never complained. He did what he had to do.
Now, take a look at Philadelphia, which covers about 143 square miles, versus about 23 for Manhattan. The Philadelphia subway is limited, there are a lot of buses and even bus-trolleys, but when I’m in a city, I go underground to avoid traffic.
So if a train went to 30th Street Station, somebody working at the museums or on Market Street would be in good shape. Somebody working at the Naval Yard would be about eight miles from work. If we extend the definition of the city to the suburbs, forget it. There are ways to do it, but they would take up a lot of time.
Asking Lehigh Valley commuters to commit to getting to a local train station, parking, then getting to Philadelphia and finding their way to work? Forget it. There aren’t enough to pay the freight.
More on this tomorrow.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 