Expanded rail service to Pittsburgh in the near future? 'It doesn't look good'

Several passengers trains travel between Philadelphia and Harrisburg every day, while only one train — Amtrak's Pennsylvanian — travels between Pittsburgh and the state capital. But expanding passenger rail service from Pittsburgh faces significant hurdles.

Last week, PennDOT's Deputy Secretary of Multimodal Transportation, Jennie Granger, detailed the results of a study at a hearing in Altoona. The study examined the feasibility of expanding passenger service between Pittsburgh and Altoona. The recommended minimum startup would be three to six trains in the morning and afternoon peak travel times, Granger said. The study suggested there would be three stops in between — at Johnstown, Latrobe and Greensburg — and that most of the passengers would commute between Pittsburgh and Greensburg.

[ Read more in the Pittsburgh Business Times. ]