LEWISTOWN — There’s no doubt more riders are boarding passenger trains than before the pandemic.

The Pennsylvanian, which runs through the Lewistown Junction Train Station daily, has reported an eight percent increase in riders from Oct. 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, according to statistics released by Amtrak.

A total of 192,100 riders boarded the Pennsylvanian, Amtrak’s Monthly Performance Report said.

That traffic seems to support the decision to add a second Amtrak train through Lewistown in 2026, along with making modifications to the station.

Talk around the subject had been steady, but now county and station officials state they have not received any updates for some time.

“We haven’t seen much beyond what is in the commercial press,” said Dave Evans, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society (PRRT&HS), owner of the Lewistown station building.

“Last I saw was Norfolk Southern’s proposal for additional tracks and interlockings between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh so a second Amtrak train could run the line each day, each way without delaying Norfolk Southern’s freight trains.”

Evans said station officials have been working with Amtrak, so they can complete Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) upgrades in Lewistown, which will primarily focus on platform work and creating an ADA-compliant bathroom for the waiting room area.

“Last we heard, their design was heading into Amtrak’s historical review group, but have not heard anything now for four or five months,” Evans said.

“The historical society is happy to support that effort, but it requires Amtrak funding – we do not have the resources to make any changes to the station, plus a good portion of the work will be performed on Norfolk Southern property, not PRRT&HS property.”

Amtrak’s funding is coming from the infrastructure bill passed several years ago. In November 2023, it was announced that the Lewistown Junction Train Station is supposed to receive $2.1 million in upgrades.

According to Amtrak’s Fiscal Year 2024-29 Station Appendices, Lewistown is scheduled for upgrades in Fiscal Year 2026.

“Hopefully they are trying to get station work along the Pennsylvanian route done in time for the second train, but that’s only an assumption on my part,” explained Mark Spada, president of the Western Pennsylvanians for Passenger Rail (WPPR).

WPPR is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2011 that has worked to ensure that the state of Pennsylvania assumed management of the Pennsylvanian, the train service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, as required under PRIIA (Pennsylvania Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008), and to advocate for additional train service on the Pennsylvanian.

Sometimes, the wheels of progress churn very slowly. Much more slowly than the passenger trains.