Somerset County, Amtrak Working On Plan For Rockwood Train Stop

Somerset County officials and Amtrak are working together on a possible plan to put a train stop in Rockwood.

Train tracks already run through the city, but a passenger train has not stopped there since 1971. Currently, the closest stops on the train line between Washington, D.C., and Chicago are in Cumberland and Connellsville.

Last October, Amtrak conducted a study that showed more people are taking trains from those stops and said adding a stop in Rockwood would be a good option.

If the plan goes through, the stop would be located right behind the Rockwood Mill Shoppes and Opera House by the bike trail.

The project would cost about $2.2 million, but officials said the benefits for the local economy and residents would be worth it.

Officials had discussed a plan to put a train stop in Rockwood about seven years ago, but the proposal never came to fruition.

Judy Pletcher, owner of Rockwood Mill Shoppes, said she thinks people would love the ability to travel when they want without having to catch a train in another town. She also said that the local Amish community is interested too because it would be a means of transportation for them.

"It has the potential not only from the Great Allegheny Passage, but our ski resorts -- Hidden Valley and Seven Springs -- would be able to bring people from the Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area to get them to the resorts," said Jim Marker, Somerset County commissioner.

Somerset commissioners' next meeting with Amtrak is set for the end of February. Until then, local officials said they are working to show Amtrak why there's no better place to stop than Somerset County.

Stay with WJAC-TV News and WJACTV.com for continuing coverage.