RELEASE: Gottheimer Claws Back $500,000 in Federal Dollars for the Future Lackawanna Railway & Andover Train Station Site

Above: Gottheimer announces clawed-back funds for Andover Train Station.

ANDOVER, NJ – Today, Friday, October 2, 2026, at the future site of the Andover station, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced $500,000 in clawed-back federal dollars secured through the Transit Security Grant Program to strengthen security and safety at the planned park-and-ride station. The station is a key part of the effort to restore the Lackawanna Cut-off railway, with the goal of service from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Hoboken, and on to New York City. 

Every day, 28,000 people commute between Northeast Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey, and New York. Sussex County has the longest average commute of any New Jersey county, at 38 minutes, and Vernon Township has been ranked as having the worst commutes in the state. Since 2011, New Jersey commute times have increased by 8.8 percent.

“There are zero options for folks in Sussex County to make their lives easier and get on a train to get to work or see a family member, and that has to change,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “I’ve clawed back $500,000 in new federal funding from Washington to Jersey, secured through the Transit Security Grant Program, to strengthen safety and security at Andover Train Station for the families and commuters who, ultimately, will count on it every day. This funding helps harden this site as the next phase of the project gets underway.”

Watch Gottheimer’s full remarks here.

The Andover site has already seen unauthorized access to the tunnel, including damage to or displacement of the measures meant to keep people out. The new resources can support security cameras, fencing, gates, and barriers, and other related security measures. This is capital security infrastructure that will stay with the station for the long haul and protect the public investment already in place.

The tunnel construction project is complete, with final details finished in June 2025, but there has been no construction activity at the site since. The project has $94 million in resources against an estimated total cost of $112.5 million. NJ TRANSIT plans to close the gap of about $19 million with state Transportation Trust Fund dollars and toll credits.

The project also promises real economic opportunity. According to Amtrak’s Corridor Vision plan, released in May 2021, expanding service beyond the Lackawanna Cut-off to Scranton could generate about $87 million in annual economic activity, plus $2.9 billion in one-time economic impact from construction along the corridor. More rail service also means fewer cars on the road, reducing emissions, highway congestion, and transportation costs and delays.

Today’s announcement builds on Gottheimer’s record of delivering for passenger rail in Northwestern New Jersey:

• In 2018, Gottheimer sent a letter urging NJ TRANSIT to allow the community to upgrade the culvert, and NJ TRANSIT agreed soon after.
• In 2021, he helped craft and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $102 billion in total rail investment.
• In 2022, he rallied state and local officials to push NJ TRANSIT to rebuild beyond the Cut-off. NJ TRANSIT committed $32.5 million to rehabilitate the Roseville Tunnel and the Hudson Farm and Junction Brook culverts, construct 8,000 feet of track bed, and stabilize rock slopes.

Gottheimer was joined by Andover Mayor Thomas Walsh, Andover Deputy Mayor Krista Gilchrist, NJTRANSIT Government & External Affairs Chief Paul Wyckoff, and Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson. 

Below: Gottheimer announces clawed-back funds for Andover Train Station.

Read Gottheimer’s full remarks as prepared for delivery here:

It’s great to be back here in beautiful Andover, New Jersey, at the future site of the Andover Train Station, the park-and-ride station that is part of Lackawanna Railway, which, when it’s fully restored, will have service from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Hoboken, New Jersey, and on to New York City. 

I want to thank Mayor Thomas Walsh, Deputy Mayor Krista Gilchrist, and Paul Wyckoff of NJTRANSIT, and the rest of NJTRANSIT for joining us today. This is a project we’ve been working on together for many years now. 

Thanks to great cooperation with our local elected officials here, when the railway is completed in 2031, Sussex County will finally have quality rail service on NJTRANSIT, helping commuters, stimulating tourism, and boosting the local economy.

Every day, 28,000 people commute between Northeast Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey, and New York. Sussex County has the longest average commute time of all New Jersey counties, at nearly 38 minutes. Vernon Township has been ranked as having the worst commutes in the entire state. And since 2011, New Jersey commute times have increased by 8.8 percent.

Yet, there are zero options for folks in Sussex County to make their lives easier and get on a train to get to work, or to see a family member. 

I’ve heard from so many residents, businesses, and local elected officials about this issue, and the urgent need for more transportation options to New York City from across Sussex.

Restoring the Lackawanna Railway is a key part of the solution, improving convenience and travel times for hundreds of thousands of travelers across the state, including right here in Andover and across Sussex County via NJTRANSIT regional rail.

Unfortunately, because of endless bureaucratic nonsense and constant stalling, this project has been trudging along for fifteen years. 

Work on the Lackawanna project actually began back in 2011. But, it was paused in 2015 because NJTRANSIT could not access and upgrade the railway culvert on Hudson Farm. So, when I got to Congress, I joined with the Andover mayor and council – and went to work. 

In 2018, working together, I sent a letter to NJTRANSIT urging them to allow the community, as they had asked, to upgrade a necessary railway culvert. Soon after, NJTRANSIT agreed to do it, a positive development after years of delay.

Then, in 2021, I helped write, negotiate, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $102 billion in total rail funding. In 2022, utilizing those dollars, I rallied state and local officials to push NJTRANSIT to rebuild beyond the Lackawanna Railway Cut-off, and NJTRANSIT committed $32.5 million to rehabilitate the Roseville Tunnel and the Hudson Farm and Junction Brook culverts, construct 8,000 feet of track bed, and stabilize rock slopes. The Tunnel, the track bed, and the culverts are already completed. 

Not too different than when the B&O and then the Transcontinental Railroad were built, this project has been subject to repeated delays and uncertain timetables, with regulatory hurdles, red tape, property disputes, and inter-agency negotiations. But, many of us, including Mayor Thomas Walsh and Deputy Mayor Gilchrist, the council, and the Sussex County Community, have never given up – we’ve continued to fight – and, because of that, we’ve continued to achieve major milestones. 

Today, I’m here to announce another important milestone in our work to bring the Lackawanna Railroad to Sussex County:  I’ve clawed back $500,000 in new federal funding from Washington to Jersey, secured through the Transit Security Grant Program, to strengthen safety and security at Andover Train Station for the families and commuters who, ultimately, will count on it every day. This funding helps harden this site as the next phase of the project gets underway.

Let me walk you through where this project stands. NJTRANSIT is finishing the design and engineering scope for this next phase, with a target of the end of October. 

The goal is to bring on a design contractor by the end of 2026, and begin design in January 2027.  The design is targeted to be complete in January 2028, with construction bidding to follow, and construction on this station is targeted to be complete in August 2031, with service for passengers to follow.

Now, every one of those dates is a target. My job is to make sure NJTRANSIT hits each one of them, and I’ll be fighting to beat them, not miss them.

Right now, thanks in part to the dollars we clawed back to Jersey in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill I mentioned, the project has $94 million in funding against an estimated total cost of $112.5 million. That leaves a gap of about $19 million, which NJ TRANSIT plans to close with state Transportation Trust Fund dollars and toll credits. 

The $500,000 I’m announcing today is separate. It will be utilized to prevent any delays in the timetable that could come from vandalism or damage from trespassers – including security cameras, fencing, gates, and barriers, and related protective technology. 

The Andover Train Station has already seen unauthorized access to the Roosevelt Tunnel, including damage to the tunnel itself and to measures put in place to keep people out. This funding goes straight to help solve that problem. This is a critical station, and we cannot afford any setbacks, and we have to protect the investments the public has already made in the infrastructure here. 

The benefits of this project are clear: Aside from all of the commuting benefits for families, so they can get to work and see their kids at night, an expanded transit network means fewer cars on the road, which will reduce vehicle emissions and pollution, highway congestion, and transportation costs and delays.  This train will also result in real economic opportunity for the region.

That’s why, back in 2022, I also pressed the Federal Railroad Administration to restore Amtrak service on the Lackawanna between New York and Scranton – including a stop right here in Andover. 

According to Amtrak’s own Corridor Vision Plan, expanding service from New York to Scranton, Pennsylvania, could generate about $87 million in annual economic activity, plus $2.9 billion in one-time economic impact from construction along the corridor.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see this railway running in 2031. I already have an alert set on my calendar.  

When the Lackawanna Rail Line was first built back in 1911, it ran west for about 28 miles between Port Morris Junction in Port Morris, New Jersey, and Slateford Junction in Slateford, Pennsylvania. It was part of a 400-mile line between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York. Imagine that. An incredible infrastructure feat for the time. 

Passenger service on this corridor ended decades ago, between 1966 and 1971, and the tracks were later removed, leaving the line inactive for more than 50 years. So, part of this project has been putting in all-new tracks. 

In the end, when it’s finished, I know this project will bring significant benefits to Sussex County and Northern New Jersey, to our families, to commuters, to deliver good-paying jobs for our hard-working men and women of labor, and to strengthen our communities by reducing congestion, improving commutes, boosting tourism, and helping grow our local economies. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Andover, Sussex County, NJTRANSIT, and Amtrak to bring quality, expansive rail service to North Jersey as soon as possible, without delay.  

There is nothing partisan about this – it’s just about working together to solve problems for Jersey families. 

If we continue to do that, to work together to restore Lackawanna and expand New Jersey’s transportation network, I know that, in the greatest country in the world, our best days will always be ahead of us.

May God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

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