Mayor Jared Kraham announced some next steps in the plan to bring passenger rail service back to the Binghamton for the first time in several decades.

As the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation advances its passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City, Kraham looks to speak with federal and state officials to work on bringing service to the local area. The city is seeking a planning and engineering firm to assist in its application for a $500,000 Corridor Identification and Development Program grant through the Federal Railroad Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

While passenger rail service is available in upstate cities like Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, it is not available anywhere in the Southern Tier.

“I think it’s really important that I serve as a spark, that I get the conversation going, that I push our federal lawmakers, our state transportation officials, to get this service back to Binghamton,” said Kraham. “I think it’s something that Binghamton deserves, and I think something that could fundamentally change the future of our local economy.”

Kraham first suggested the city explore passenger rail options in an October 2025 mayoral debate with Democrat Miles Burnett, citing the success of a similar project connecting Scranton to New York City.

According to PennDOT, restoring rail service between Scranton and New York City has been discussed for over 40 years. The development is being funded by the federal Corridor ID Program, which supplies funding for new and re-establishing rail services on preexisting corridors. The Scranton to New York City project was first awarded a grant in December 2023 and is now on step two of Corridor ID’s three-step program.

“Some major milestones ahead include: developing the Service Development Plan; stakeholder engagement with railroads, agencies, and the public; identifying the best route option and schedules; environmental planning; station planning; and infrastructure evaluation,” wrote Alexis Campbell, the press secretary of PennDOT, in an email to Pipe Dream.

Campbell said this particular route is one of the most important Corridor ID projects and among the few to have reached the program’s second phase.

Kraham held a press conference on Thursday to discuss the plan to expand rail service to Binghamton through the Corridor ID Program. He mentioned that Scranton was once in the position Binghamton is now, as the City is planning to apply for the $500,000 in Corridor ID funding. Kraham said he hopes for “Binghamton to be the next Scranton” and receive the grant to pursue implementing the passenger rail.

Kraham said the city hopes to hire a firm with previous experience in applying for Corridor ID grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and ideally one “that has shepherded a successful application.” While Binghamton is still in the early stages of this lengthy process, Kraham hopes this project will benefit the community in several ways. With the continued growth of Binghamton University, Kraham thinks building a passenger rail service will be important to connect the Greater Binghamton Area to New York CIty, “the largest metro economy” in the United States.

A connection between New York City and Binghamton may also provide students with a reason to “stick around” after graduation, Kraham added, considering that a large portion of University students are from Long Island, the five boroughs of New York City and Westchester County.

“It’s been long reported that Binghamton University continues to grow its academic profile, its number of students, and its impact on the region,” Kraham said. “One of the main factors that I see for this region’s future is the continued growth of Binghamton University.”

Passenger rail service through Binghamton has not operated since 1970, when a final train departed the historic Erie Lackawanna Train Station, which is now Station 45, a steakhouse located downtown. Stops in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were included on that route.

Kraham said feedback for this advancement of public transportation has been “overwhelmingly positive” and that the community “can do this if people decide that it’s important”.

“We have to look toward the future of transportation and all of the economic possibilities that passenger rail could bring, not just to the city of Binghamton but in an entire region of upstate New York,” Kraham said.