Train service won’t happen under Trump

I regularly hear people — many of them frustrated commuters on Route 422 — wishing that passenger train service would return to Pottstown, Royersford, Phoenixville, and other communities along the Schuylkill River. But any chance of those wishes being realized would be extinguished if President Trump’s proposed budget for the Department of Transportation goes through.

Federal grants provide critical support for transit projects throughout the area, and restoration of passenger train service along the Schuylkill River would almost certainly rely on securing New Starts/Small Starts funding. Despite this need, the president’s budget would limit New Starts grants only to alreadyfunded projects and eliminate funding for the TIGER grant program, both vital programs that support local transportation projects.

Other area transportation projects could be hurt as well. SEPTA plans to apply for New Starts funding for its planned Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL) extension to King of Prussia. TIGER grants have funded trail extensions throughout Southeast Pennsylvania and were the hopeful funding source for the Ardmore Transportation Center project. Proposals to expand SEPTA service to West Chester and Quakertown and create the Capital Red Rose Corridor rail system between Harrisburg and Lancaster would also rely on federal funding. If the proposed cuts to federal transit grant programs go through, it’s unlikely that we’ll see expanded train service anywhere, and an overburdened Route 422 will remain the main transportation link for western Montgomery County.

If we want to have a robust public transportation system that reduces highway traffic, we need the federal government to invest more in transportation grant programs, not less. Should the president’s vision go through, we can look forward to spending more of our days sitting in traffic, which will only get worse as development continues. — Alex Teplyakov Phoenixville