Couple of clarifications.
Sen Casey is very much an embodiment of his home state. He grew up in Scranton, a community with a strong tradition of the "old politics" depicted in the writing of Flannery O'Connor and James Farrell. But Senator Casey is NOT the man who served as the state's Governor 1986-1994; that was his late father.
As we've pointed out before, Pennsylvania is very conservative socially, but with a couple of exceptions like the Poconos, not conditioned toward further movement toward an open economy (It is likely the largest state with a public-sector liquor monopoly, due mostly to entrenched public-employee union opposition). The northeast quadrant of the state, when combined with Pittsburgh, provides enough population to balance out against Greater Philadelphia when state issues and funding are addressed via the legislative process. Former Governor Rendell was a former Philadelphia mayor, a role guaranteed to alienate elderly "coal crackers" who still occasionally receive phony Philadelphia traffic tickets in the mail.
But until about thirty years ago, Philadelphia was the hub of an "expanded" SEPTA which operated "commuter" trains as far into the hinterlands as Allentown, Reading, and even Pottsville. Scranton lost its passenger service in 1970, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton in 1961, and the above two cites, along with the Lehigh Valley, do about as much business with New York as with Philadelphia. Lou Barletta, the first non-Democratic congressaman from the Anthracite region since the 1950's, is a native of Hazleton, and quickly shot down a "pipe-dream" of restoring passnger service to his home city, citing quite practical physical obstacles.
But over time, I expect the arguments for restoring some form of rail passnger service to Eastern Pennsylvania to gain momentum. NJT is instituting service as close as Andover, whch should encourage some Pocono-region commuters to park-and ride. The problem is one of getting Pennsylvania and New Jersey to identify a common goal, and to define a common approach.
Apparently, Senator Casey, or someone among his staff, has enough exposure to the limitations of both technology and realpolitik to understand the difference between the HSR fantasy of 2009 now in its death throes, and the possibility of redeveloping a service which is likely to become more appreciated as the new energy realities finally hit home.
What a revoltin' development this is! (William Bendix)
