Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz was appointed chair of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority (SRPRA) earlier at the SRPRA's Jan. 27 meeting. For the past two years, Moskowitz has served as vice chair for the SRPRA, and she replaces Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach, who served as SRPRA chair since its first meeting in July 2022.

The SRPRA was incorporated in 2022 when Chester, Berks, and Montgomery counties came together to oversee and implement the restoration of passenger rail service from Reading to Philadelphia. The formation of the SRPRA was an important step in the long process of research and planning for passenger rail, establishing an entity whose mission is to connect the communities of Reading, Pottstown, and Phoenixville with Philadelphia and beyond.

The SRPRA completed the first phase of a federal Corridor Identification and Development Program that is providing a boost to the effort to bring back passenger rail. The second phase will include the development of the service plan. Then the SRPRA will proceed to preliminary engineering and eventually the final design.

At the Jan. 27 SRPRA board meeting, Montgomery County Commissioner Thomas DiBello was selected to serve as vice chair of the SRPRA. Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler was approved to serve as treasurer, and Montgomery County Planning Commission director Scott France was chosen to serve as secretary.

For more information on the SRPRA, visit http://www.gosrpra.com.