For the benefit of us Westerners who have no idea what has been scrapped in the last 50 years (with a few exceptions like knowing the Lackawanna Cutoff has right of way but no rails)...
Can anyone give a short summary of what the realistic options would be, if a person wanted to run from NY to Buffalo, via any of Scranton, Allentown, Reading, Binghamton, on rails that still exist today?
NYSDOT's plan for service to Binghamton from NY would use the following route:
NY Penn Station
Secaucus Jct. (Upper)
Secaucus Connection (from NEC to NJT Morris and Essex Line)
Newark Broad St. - Summit - Morristown - Dover - Lake Hopatcong - Port Morris - Andover (end of NJT ex-Lackawanna)
Anodever - Blairsetown - Paulin's Kill or Hainesburg Viaduct - Delaware Viaduct - Slateford Jct (Lackawanna Cutoff track to be restored ex-Lackawanna)
Slateford Jct. - Delaware Water Gap - Pocono Summit - Tobyhanna - Scranton (existing short line used by Steamtown in Scranton, ex-Lackawanna)
Scranton - Nicholson (Tunkhannock Viaduct) - Binghamton (Was D&H now NS ex-Lackawanna)
Binghamton - Buffalo (Southern Tier -ex Lackawanna IIRC)
There is no real option through Allentown or Reading if coming from NY. Coming from Philly the routing through them would not make much sense either lots of 10mph tracks before getting to Slateford IIRC . From Philly one would go on NS via Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre onto Scranton to join the routing from New York.
The other alternative that was considered and rejected due to excessively slow transit time was the Erie Route, which at present is hard to get to from NYP. But from Hoboken it would go thusly:
Hoboken - Secaucus Jct (Lower) - Patterson - Suffern - Port Jervis - Deposit - Binghamton
All the track for this is in place and currently in use. You get to cross the Moodna and the Starucca Viaduct on this route.
The third alternative considered for getting from NYP to Binghamton was via Albany using the ex D&H now NS Schenectady - Oneonta - Binghamton line, all tracks in place, currently in use but even slower than the ex-Erie alternative dues to the significantly greater distance to be traversed, and also fewer new points served.