Jason Laban, chair of the Railroad Restoration Committee, told the West Chester Borough Council on Nov. 18 that the committee’s quarterly report shows the proposed West Chester Metro has been included in the 2025 State Rail Plan, a milestone the committee described as increasing the project’s visibility to state agencies and funders.

Laban said the committee’s updated financial plan estimates $40,000,000 in capital costs and $10,000,000 in annual operating costs for the notional service. "We got the Westchester metro onto the state rail plan," Laban said, adding that the listing ‘‘doesn't mean funding, but it means awareness,’’ and could be cited in future grant applications. He called a pedestrian bridge at the Wawa end of the line the top early capital priority before major equipment purchases.

The committee described a stepped operating approach: initially planning eight round trips per day (four morning and four afternoon peak-period services) rather than a larger-scale service. Laban said the committee is considering standard FRA-compliant equipment — either used diesel locomotives or battery-powered locomotives — and noted battery units could save on fuel costs over time but may require higher up-front investment.

Council members pressed the committee on parking assumptions for a proposed Market Street surface lot. Laban said the illustrative schematic fit roughly 82 surface parking spaces but acknowledged that was a parcel-capacity estimate rather than a needs assessment: "It's really just based on...put as many spaces as we could into the parcel," he said. Councilors urged the committee to secure a professional ridership and parking needs study before finalizing assumptions.

On funding, Laban said the committee expects no local general-fund contribution in initial plans and is targeting state and federal grant programs. The committee is pursuing planning and design grants, exploring a Request for Information to industry for refined cost estimates, and seeking letters of support from state and local partners; he noted Senator John Kane’s staff had offered assistance with grant drafting. Laban also reported outreach to PennDOT, SEPTA (including ridership guidance from SEPTA staff), Chester County planning staff, and private operators as part of an early planning coalition.

Next steps identified by the committee include issuing an RFI to gather industry cost information, pursuing planning and design grants for station and pedestrian-bridge concepts, conducting formal ridership and parking needs assessments with local institutions, and returning to council with more detailed operations and funding plans. The committee asked the borough for continued support and potential help on grant-writing coordination.

The report was accepted for discussion and follow-up; council and committee members indicated they would place related grant applications and design funding requests on future agendas as information is developed.