Amtrak eyes express bus between Reading and Philadelphia
The bus would run at least twice a day, each way
While the region waits anxiously to see if passenger rail between Reading and Philadelphia will be re-established, Amtrak is making plans to provide express bus service between the two cities.
The company, which has announced plans to explore a return of passenger rail and received a sizeable portion of the infrastructure bill, plans to establish an express bus route that will make Pottstown the only one between 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Franklin Street in Reading.
The news became public during the Pottstown Borough Council meeting Wednesday night when Borough Manager Justin Keller informed the members of the council and was subsequently confirmed by Amtrak.
“Amtrak is starting a planning process with local and state officials, including PennDOT, to study the possibilities of bringing Amtrak passenger trains to Reading, Phoenixville and Pottstown,” according to a statement provided by Jason Abrams, Amtrak’s public relations manager.
“In the interim, Amtrak is working to establish a premium ‘Thruway’ bus service connecting Reading and Pottstown to Philadelphia, with train connections throughout the country. Train service will not be determined by bus ridership,” the statement said.
“Amtrak is still seeking a partner bus company to establish the premium
bus service and is working with host communities to establish the bus stops. In 2019, Amtrak provided 1.5 million bus rides, with most bus passengers making connections with Amtrak trains,” according to the statement.
According to a proposal presented to borough officials in December, Amtrak operates more than 100 connecting bus routes operated by more than 60 carriers.
“Thruway connections extend Amtrak destinations to over 400 additional bus stops, including stops in rural areas,” according to the presentation.
Amtrak has asked to be use space in the parking lot, known, appropriately, as “the Reading lot” located off South Hanover Street just south of the Norfolk Southern tracks and opposite the old train station and current PART bus hub, Keller told the council.
“Amtrak estimates incremental revenue will exceed
incremental expense,” according to the presentation. Amtrak will guarantee a fixed ticket revenue to the bus contractor and “if the route is profitable on its own account, the bus company can earn additional income from ticket revenue that exceeds the revenue guarantee.”
A sample schedule provided to Keller would have two weekday trips per day from Reading to Philadelphia, and vice versa, morning and afternoon. The same schedule shows three trips from Philadelphia to Reading on weekends and holidays, but only two in the opposite direction on weekends.
In March, before the Infrastructure bill was even passed, Amtrak released a long-term capital expansion plan that calls for providing passenger service from Reading to Philadelphia three times a day.
Included in the 1,039page infrastructure bill is a $66 billion investment in passenger and freight rail.
Funding specific to
Amtrak is $14 billion less than the $80 billion President Joe Biden, famously fond of rail travel, originally called for, but nonetheless represents the largest infusion of federal cash in the 50-year history of the carrier.
During an AXIOS interview aired on HBO last year, former Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said “that level of funding is absolutely transformational. Half of that funding will go to building our intercity passenger rail,” which includes the Reading-toPhilly spur.
Amtrak’s plan calls for the addition of 39 new routes serving 160 new communities. In addition to the Reading-to-Philadelphia line, Amtrak’s plan calls for new routes connecting Allentown and Scranton to New York City.
Amtrak estimates the rail lines will produce $54 million in annual economic impact and $1.8 billion in economic activity from initial capital investments.