Use the following to reach out to your local elected officials (mayors, county commissioners, state representatives, and state senators)
Dear {THEIR TITLE AND LAST NAME},
My name is {YOUR NAME} and I am a constituent of yours. I am also a supporter of restoring passenger rail to NEPA via the Lackawanna Cut-off. Luckily the potential for this project is brighter than ever. The biggest hurdle to finishing this project and bringing back passenger rail to the area is obtaining the necessary funding. Luckily, there are several proposals at the federal level to provide this funding that the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority and NJ Transit would be able to take advantage of in order to get this project funded. These options include the $80 billion in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, the PRIME or BRAIN TRAIN proposals as part of the Amtrak reauthorization, or a passenger rail trust fund. Bringing passenger rail back to our region will be an economic boon, bolstering our tourism industry and enabling an easier commute to the New York City area.
I urge you on behalf of your constituents to contact your members of Congress, including Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, to advocate for the inclusion of a federal funding program for passenger rail expansion in an infrastructure package and/or the Amtrak reauthorization bill.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Scranton Rail Restoration Coalition at https://scrantonrail.com/government-outreach/. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back.
Thanks,
{YOUR NAME}