The TMA Bucks steering committee leading the Quakertown Corridor Rail Project met in July with officials of the Federal Transportation Administration’s Region III office to provide an update on the progress of the technical work now nearing completion. The ongoing work examines the restoration of commuter rail service north of SEPTA’s current terminus in Lansdale.

 The TMA’s lead engineer, Valarie Discafani of Jacobs Engineering, provided a detailed overview of the work about to be completed, including costs and ridership estimates modeled by the DVRPC. The steering committee has decided to rework the project, to be completed in phases as a response to the limited amount of federal and state funding. Region III administrator Letitia Thompson expressed interest in getting more definitive data on the capital costs and operating costs of the project. While estimates have been generated, Jacobs’ next task will be to refine those costs.

 The TMA will develop a series of public outreach sessions by early next year to provide updates on the current status of the project to the municipalities and general public. The project is on target to be included in the 2011 application round for the federal New Starts or Small Starts programs in order to advance the project into preliminary engineering and environmental review.