The opinion that Amtrak service through this region ought to be improved was the central point of a Mirror editorial on Jan. 10, 2020, as two federal House of Representatives panels were about to begin work on a reauthorization bill to replace the FAST Act.

FAST was a five-year surface transportation funding bill signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 4, 2015.

Most Americans did not envision in “New Year 2020” that a mere two years later a funding mechanism might be in place for making upgraded rail passenger service reality in what now is being described as “within the next several years.”

Currently, Amtrak provides only one eastbound and one westbound train daily between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, by way of Altoona and Johnstown. That minimal travel opportunity has inhibited passenger and trip numbers from increasing markedly in that rail corridor and kept Amtrak from aggressively marketing its service and providing meaningful incentives for train travel.

It is impossible to market a “full service” that does not really exist — at least, not of the scope that users of the service have a right to expect.

Meanwhile, the less-than-adequate amount of money that had been available for pursuing the positive, modernization outcome that many travelers over the decades probably had hoped for had also kept top Amtrak officials and rail-travel experts from launching the kind of task necessary to tie together all of the puzzle pieces necessary to enable implementation of expanded passenger service.

The federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden is providing the financial maneuverability to turn hope into eventual reality.

Unfortunately, such reality cannot happen soon enough.

However, the availability of the infrastructure money has added clarity to a heretofore foggy perspective of the mandatory preparatory task ahead — a task that most non-railroad people could never have imagined.

First, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and track owner Norfolk Southern need to hammer out an agreement that would include decisions on track-related improvements, establish occupational details for ensuring safety and mutual efficiency, assemble a compensation plan tied to use of the NS rail line and implement liability protections.

But also at the top of the priority list: extensive planning and construction to eliminate the possibility of “clashes” between Norfolk freight and Amtrak passenger traffic during the course of trains’ movement.

Adding another Amtrak train or trains, then, will involve more than merely “planting” another train or trains in the NS corridor.

According to a state news release, about five years will be necessary to construct improvements to eliminate eight identified right-of-way “choke” points where additional Amtrak passenger trains would clash with Norfolk freight operations.

State Rep. Lou Schmitt, R-Altoona, was right in adding his voice to the message that without the new infrastructure funding, the improvements needed for another passenger train might have been delayed for years or never come about.

Building an expanded, improved Amtrak service with ticket prices that passengers can afford would emphasize to future generations that there is indeed a pleasant, comfortable alternative to motor vehicle transportation on increasingly congested highways.