About 250 people waited in Johnstown this week for a new-look train that could stem the brain drain and propel the region into a bedroom community for Greensburg and Pittsburgh.

The Diesel Multiple Unit is viewed by some as the beginning of affordable rail service from Altoona and Johnstown west to larger cities. Such service could be an economic shot in the arm for Johnstown and would mean commuters could live in the Flood City and work in Pittsburgh or vice versa.

"This station hasn't been this crowded since 1952," state Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona, said as he stepped into the Johnstown Amtrak station at 47 Walnut St.

Geist, a railroad advocate and chairman of House Transportation Committee, was among those who came by bus from Altoona for yesterday's test ride on the DMU, a self-propelled railcar that could carry up to 92 passengers at 70 mph.

Advantages of the unit produced by Colorado Railcar Manufacturing Co. of Fort Lupton, Colo., are said to be its fuel efficiency and cost effectiveness, and that it can run on regular tracks.

"But we have to make the numbers work," said state Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont. "People have to utilize it."

PennDOT and Norfolk Southern have commissioned a passenger rail study focusing on the Harrisburg-to-Pittsburgh area known as Keystone West.

Sharon A. Daboin, a state Department of Transportation deputy secretary who oversees railroads and other public transportation, came from Harrisburg to ride on the DMU. The state was one of the sponsors of the swing through Pennsylvania.

"I can't wait 'til the train gets here," she said.

Transit authorities from Blair, Cambria and Westmoreland counties would be asked to help cover costs.

"If we want to halt outmigration, we need to take bold steps," said Christopher Gleason, a Johnstown businessman who arranged for the DMU's local stop. "We need to create jobs and attract capital."

He said transportation is the key, pointing out that improvements are being made to roads and at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport.

"The last leg of the transportation stool is the DMU," he said.

The state supports commuter rail service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. A similar effort for the western part of the state could be next.

Yesterday's federal register carried an announcement of plans for a DMU demonstration project. U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, rode the DMU and said the 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill has money for such projects.

The DMU also is being tested by South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

Although a self-propelled car, the DMU was being pulled yesterday by an Amtrak locomotive because it is not yet equipped to read signals from Norfolk Southern, which owns tracks in the Johnstown-Altoona area.

When operating on its own, the DMU is powered by twin 600-horsepower diesel engines and has the capacity to pull two additional coaches. A single-unit DMU costs $2.9 million.

Federal, state and county elected officials who spoke yesterday endorsed the concept, which has been used in Europe for years. Officials vowed yesterday to work together to make it reality.

When that might happen is hard to say. Geist hopes it will be in the "not too distant future."

Mark Parker, a radio talk show host who was master of ceremonies yesterday, urged people to write their elected officials, including municipal government leaders, asking them to endorse the concept.

Petitions endorsing the railcar have filled with signatures quickly.