Setting the record straight on restoring rail service

This week, many West Chester residents received a dropped piece of literature at their doors with inaccurate statements about the movement to restore rail service to West Chester.

The piece claims that the Committee to Re-Establish Rail Service to West Chester was formed in 2014 based on a proposal by me. This is false. It was the President of Borough Council at the time, Jordan Norley, along with several borough council member supporters who introduced and voted to create the committee in February 2014. It received a unanimous vote by Borough Council.

I attended a meeting where I learned about the effort in March 2014, at the Chester County Library for the Chester County Public Transportation Plan meeting. President Norley successfully presented Borough Council’s proposal for adding the restoration of rail service to the Chester County Transportation Plan.

Since then, Norley has personally and professionally advocated for Rail

Service to West Chester.. He has been crucial to our Committee’s continued work and his dedication has helped immensely by attracting support to our efforts.

To truly show transparency, I will state that I have endorsed Jordan Norley for Mayor. I have done so because he has been at the forefront of our efforts to re-establish rail service to West Chester. I believe he will continue to be our champion and work tirelessly on all issues important to residents of the Borough, as he has been for so many years — and he will continue to do so for Rail.

This piece also states that, according to a 2018 study, rail service to West Chester was found not “financially feasible.” The 2018 SEPTA study, funded entirely by PennDOT, actually concluded that the project is feasible, but funding wasn’t available at that time (something Norley is working actively to fix). Further, the cost-perpassenger is actually inline with other

Philadelphia-region rail projects. For example, the Elwyn-Middleton extension capital costs are $177,00,000 for 3.0 miles; the Middletown to West Chester capital costs are projected to be $379.8 million for 9.4 miles.

It has been said that timing is everything in life, and Norley is meeting the moment by applying for federal grants and rallying public support. Our federal government is planning to make major strides in public transportation and infrastructure advancements. President Biden’s infrastructure plan proposes $80 billion for rail and he was at Amtrak in Philadelphia a week ago promoting his infrastructure plan, and really, who knows the value of rail service better than President Biden?

Mayor Norley has been a steadfast proponent of restoration of rail service to the Borough of West Chester, one of many public services designed to help the residents of West Chester that he will continue to support should he be elected to a full fouryear term.