Northeast Pennsylvania residents have been waiting for a train to New York for more than 30 years.

Now, Amtrak has signaled that it wants the route, including three stops in Monroe County, to be part of an unprecedented plan to expand rail nationwide.

“It’s something we possibly envisioned, but not something we would bet the farm on. Now it looks like it’s actually going to happen,” said Chuck Walsh, president of the North Jersey Rail Commuters Organization, who has publicly advocated for service along the corridor for more than 30 years.

A route from New York to Scranton, with stops including Tobyhanna, Mount Pocono and East Stroudsburg, is one of 39 included in Amtrak’s “corridor vision” plan released earlier this year. That plan, which also includes a route from New York to Allentown depends largely on a proposed infrastructure bill with $66 billion in rail funding, which is currently being considered by Congress.

If that bill passes, the authority which owns the Pennsylvania section of the Scranton-New York route wants to be ready.

The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, which owns the 60-mile section from Scranton to the Delaware River, has partnered with Amtrak for a joint planning study on the corridor, agreeing to supply the $400,000 budget for study plan.

“This is the type of detailed analysis they will have to do on all 39 of the corridors, and we wanted ours to be one of the first out of the box,” said Larry Malski, PNRRA President.

The study will look at what is needed to run Amtrak trains on PNRRA’s rails. The route will likely need improvements to run at Amtrak’s 80 mph standard. But one advantage the project has over most of the other 39 corridors is that it is owned entirely by public entities with an interest in passenger rail - PNRRA, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Transit, and Amtrak itself.

The study will project potential ridership, fare revenue and the need for other financing.

PNRRA is confident that there will be demand for the line between commuters and tourists.

“We believe the numbers are going to be there for this type of service,” Malski said.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, whose district includes Monroe County, said, “Those of us who have been working for years on bringing passenger rail back to Northeastern Pennsylvania are gratified that Amtrak understands the kind of economic boon this train service can be for our whole region.”

Its preliminary estimates say that 20,000 people commute to Manhattan and New Jersey each day by car and bus. On paper that commute takes two hours, but those who drive it during peak hours know it can be much longer.

It would also be useful for bringing tourists from the city to businesses in Northeast Pa. PNRRA has already heard from resorts who envision picking up their guests from the city at Amtrak stations, like the original resorts did over 100 years ago.

“There are pictures of the buses lined up from each of the resorts as people got off the train. They were doing it then, they’ll figure it out now too,” Malski said.

The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau also realizes the opportunities that Amtrak service from New York would create. New York-area residents who do not have cars could have a new way to visit the area.

“We know that many of our friends and neighbors have been keeping this dream alive for over 30 years, and we are grateful to them,” said Chris Barrett, President/CEO of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.

Tyler Kusma, executive director of the Scranton Rail Restoration Coalition, said that Amtrak had been non-committal on Scranton service in the past, likely because there just wasn’t funding available. He said the first time he saw the map showing Scranton service, he was shocked.

“No one really knew that was coming. It was very validating. Many times I said, ‘Let’s bring in Amtrak,’ and now here’s Amtrak saying ‘we want to do this,’?” Kusma said.

Passenger rail service to Scranton ceased in 1970. Walsh started advocating for service to be restored not long after that. He takes a measured approach, but says the reality of service seems closer than ever.

“I think we’ve all become optimistic but cautious about being overly optimistic until we get to the point where we say ‘we’re good to go.’ We’re not there yet, but there’s time,” he said.