Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz (center), newly selected Chair of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority.
Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz was appointed Chair of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority (SRPRA) earlier this week at the Authority’s January meeting. For the past two years, Commissioner Moskowitz has served as Vice-Chair for the Authority, and she replaces Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach, who served as the Authority Chair since its first meeting in July of 2022.
“I am very honored to be selected to serve as Chair by my colleagues across all three counties, and I thank Commissioner Leinbach for his leadership over the past few years,” said Commissioner Moskowitz.
“This Authority demonstrates that when we come together, counties throughout the Commonwealth can work across party lines to do what’s right for the good of our residents. We have been laying the foundation to restore passenger rail service from Reading to Philadelphia and beyond, and we are now moving forward with plans that examine ridership and revenue forecasts, capital programming and analysis of operations.”
“I am proud of what we are achieving, and I thank all of the board members and our Executive Director, Tom Frawley for their efforts.”
The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority was incorporated in 2022 when Chester, Berks and Montgomery Counties came together to oversee and implement the restoration of passenger rail service from Reading to Philadelphia. The formation of the Authority was the crucial step in the long process of research and planning for passenger rail, establishing an entity whose mission is to connect the communities of Reading, Pottstown, and Phoenixville with Philadelphia and beyond.
The Authority completed the first phase of a federal Corridor Identification and Development Program that is providing a boost to the effort to bring back passenger rail. The second phase, as noted by Commissioner Moskowitz, will include the development of the service plan.
“From there, we would move to preliminary engineering, and eventually an implementation phase that includes the final design,” noted Commissioner Moskowitz. “The process is complex and requires the commitment and coordination of many partners at the local, state, and federal level.”
At the January 27th SRPRA Board Meeting, Montgomery County Commissioner Thomas DiBello was selected to serve as Vice Chair of the Authority. Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler was approved to serve as Treasurer for the Authority, and Montgomery County Planning Commission Director Scott France was chosen to serve as secretary.
For more information on the plans, actions, and meeting dates for the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, visit www.gosrpra.com.
