Harrisburg, PA –  Today, Governor Josh Shapiro announced over $140 million in passenger rail investments through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP-National) grant program and the Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) program. These investments are part of an $8.2 billion federal investment to transform passenger rail in the United States, and is among the many ways the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) continues to deliver for Pennsylvania’s transportation network.

“From my very first day in office, my Administration has worked aggressively to create real opportunity for the good people of Pennsylvania,” said Governor Shapiro. “Thanks to President Biden’s leadership and our federal representatives’ support, we have a historic opportunity to build infrastructure that will connect our communities, spur economic development, and create opportunity for generations to come. I am proud of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for winning this competitive funding that will benefit people across the Commonwealth.”

Pennsylvania will receive $143 million through the FSP-National program to support the expansion of passenger rail along the Keystone West corridor between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Currently, the Pennsylvanian Amtrak service travels roundtrip between New York City and Pittsburgh via Harrisburg once daily. The agreement that Norfolk Southern and PennDOT entered into supports increasing those Pennsylvanian passenger services to twice a day. To support these expanded passenger operations, the Commonwealth will invest more than $200 million in infrastructure and safety improvements, which will now be partially offset by this federal investment.

“Enhancing passenger rail and restoring these connections will deliver new mobility options for Pennsylvanians,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Expanding this service will reduce commute times, help connect hundreds of thousands of residents, and boost local economies.”

Additionally, FRA has identified three passenger rail corridors in Pennsylvania for study and development through the Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) program, a comprehensive intercity passenger rail planning and development program that will help guide intercity passenger rail development throughout the country and create a pipeline of intercity passenger rail projects ready for implementation. The Corridor ID grant funds will support the Scranton to New York Penn Station (NYP) Passenger Rail Corridor project, the Keystone Corridor: Pittsburgh to Philadelphia project, and the Reading-Philadelphia-New York Corridor. Each corridor will receive up to $500,000.

The Scranton to New York Penn Station (NYP) Passenger Rail Corridor project will restore intercity passenger rail service between Scranton, Pennsylvania and New York Penn Station (NYP), providing access to New York City, northwestern New Jersey, and Scranton for employment, business, leisure trips, tourism, recreation, and opportunities at higher education institutions along the route. The Corridor has been the subject of numerous studies, including the Amtrak Connects US Corridor Vision Plan, and long-range transportation plans that show growing demand for intercity passenger rail service along a corridor that has heavy auto traffic and unpredictable travel times for commuters. The Corridor will provide an intercity transportation option for historically under-served northeastern Appalachian Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey.

The Keystone Corridor: Pittsburgh to Philadelphia (Corridor) project will expand, modernize, and improve the two state-supported Amtrak services – the Pennsylvanian and the Keystone Service – to meet the demands of intercity passenger rail in the Corridor and improve co-mingled operations for intercity, commuter, and freight trains. PennDOT’s overarching goals for the Corridor are to increase frequency of service, reduce trip times, and improve the passenger experience, leading to higher ridership. PennDOT and its partners have invested significantly in the Corridor over the past two decades, designing and implementing station and rail infrastructure improvements between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and identifying improvements between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg to allow for a second daily Pennsylvanian frequency.

The Reading-Philadelphia-New York Corridor would connect Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties with Philadelphia and New York City, as well as other communities along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and beyond. The corridor would run on an existing rail alignment that has not had passenger trains running since 1983, wiht new intermediate stops in Pottstown, Phoenixville and potentially Norristown, with four to eight daily roundtrips connecting southeastern Pennsylvanians with Philadelphia and New York, NY, from Reading. This application was submitted by the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published December 11, 2023 9:26 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) A massive congratulations was sent to Aliquippa on winning their FIFTH state championship title, and for an incredible undefeated football season, according to a release.
Peter Hall, President of Kraft Heinz Ingrediants and US Away from Home Congratulated the Quips by writing “It’s been an honor getting to know this amazing community and help support its hardworking students and members – from the unveiling the new home of Heinz Field., to hosting our first-ever mentoring program with bright young leaders from the Aliquippa School District. There is even more to come as we look to break ground on the academic and athletic center”.
The letter was sent to Superintendent Dr. Phillip K. Woods, Dr. Jennifer Damico and Football Coach Mike Warfield.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published December 11, 2023 9:14 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) At approximately 11 pm Friday night a 37 year old male was stabbed in the back in the 300 block of Superior Avenue. Aliquippa Police were dispatched to the scene and the man was life flighted to a Pittsburgh Hospital.
The incident is under investigation, according to police.

(Photos by Daniel Campbell and Frank Sparks)

(Ambridge, Pa.)  A warm December night was chilled out on Friday as Christmas was in the air on Merchant Street in Ambridge. The annual Christmas on Merchant Parade and Festival was held on Friday night.

There were many activities for everyone that featured a Christmas Parade along Merchant Street that featured the big guy from up north himself, Santa Claus.

Beaver County Radio did a live broadcast of the Christmas on Merchant and a live video stream of the event on our Facebook Page and You tube Channel.

You can see the video stream of Beaver County Radio’s broadcast below along wiht pictures of a fun night in Ambridge;

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, U.S. Representatives Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) and Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) sent this letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm opposing the Biden Administration’s proposed rule to mandate the use of amorphous metal (AM) cores instead of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) cores. GOES cores are used in electrical distribution transformers across the country.

Currently, there is only one facility in the United States producing GOES, located in Butler, Pennsylvania, which is represented by more than 1,300 United Auto Workers (UAW) employees. Implementation of this proposed rule would jeopardize the Butler, Pennsylvania facility, leave the U.S. electrical grid reliant on imports, and potentially cost over 1,500 American jobs.

Moreover, amorphous metal cores rely on imports of raw materials; a dependency that could leave Americans susceptible to a variety of disruptions, from production to shipping. The Department of Commerce has identified this as a threat to national security.

“Finalizing this rule would significantly impact the production of distribution transformers, which are already difficult to obtain,” the Congressmen wrote in their letter. “Grid security and reliability are vital to our economic and national security.  We respectfully urge you to make serious modifications that preserve utilization of GOES for transformer cores to the proposed rule and thank you for your consideration.”

The administration’s proposed rule comes when the supply chain constraint for distribution transformers has grown significantly, with demand exceeding current rates of production. The current lead time for procuring a distribution transformer is more than 16 months.

“This rule would severely limit the ability of our utility providers to ensure grid reliability and security while making us dependent on foreign imports of amorphous metal,” the Members continued.

The Proposed Rule increases efficiency standards on distribution transformers, which are already no less than 97.7% energy efficient. 

FILE – Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks to Texas state troopers and guardsmen at the South Texas International Airport, Nov. 19, 2023, in Edinburg, Texas. Trump’s lawyers are arguing that he had a good faith basis to question the outcome of the 2020 election that he lost. A defense motion filed late Monday in federal court in Washington asserts that Trump was not obligated to accept at face value the judgments of government officials who found no widespread fraud in the election. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but has narrowed the restrictions on his speech. The three-judge panel’s ruling Friday modifies the gag order to allow the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner to make disparaging comments about special counsel Jack Smith. Trump has described the gag order as unconstitutional muzzling of his political speech. Trump could appeal the ruling to the full court or to the Supreme Court. Prosecutors say the restrictions are necessary to shield potential witnesses from harassment and threats inspired by Trump’s incendiary social media posts.

FILE – Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, walks from Marine One upon arrival at Fort McNair, June 25, 2023, in Washington. Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax charges in California as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of the president’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been indicted on tax charges in California as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the 2024 election. Thursday’s indictment has three felonies and six misdemeanors. Special counsel David Weiss says Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.” Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argues prosecutors bowed to political pressure in the case, which had been expected to end with a plea deal before it imploded over the summer. The new charges are in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018.