Manayunk/Norristown Line

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Manayunk/Norristown Line
A Manayunk/Norristown train at Main Street station
Overview
Status	Operating
Owner	SEPTA Regional Rail
Line number	Formerly R6
Termini	Penn Medicine Elm Street, Norristown
Stations	16
Website	septa.org
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	SEPTA Regional Rail
Operator(s)	SEPTA Regional Rail
Rolling stock	Electric multiple units
Daily ridership	9,839[1]
Technical
Line length	18.1 mi (29.1 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Catenary
show Route map Legend 12.3 mi 19.8 km Stony Creek Branch show 12.3 mi 19.8 km DOY to Doylestown Lansdale closed DOY to 30th Street Station Kneedler closed West Point closed Acorn closed Belfry closed Custer closed Hartranft closed Hospital closed 18.1 mi 29.1 km Norristown–Elm Street Marshall Street closed 17.7 mi 28.5 km Norristown–Main Street 12.3 mi 19.8 km Pottsville Line show 12.3 mi 19.8 km Pottsville closed Schuylkill Haven closed closed Hamburg closed Shoemakersville closed Mohrsville closed closed Reading Outer Station closed Harrisburg Line Reading Franklin Street closed Birdsboro closed Pottstown closed Royersford closed Phoenixville closed Valley Forge closed Valley Forge Park closed 17.2 mi 27.7 km Norristown T.C. NHSL Trenton Cutoff Mogees closed Ivy Rock closed 13.5 mi 21.7 km Conshohocken 12.3 mi 19.8 km Spring Mill Zone 3 2 10.7 mi 17.2 km Miquon Shawmont closed 8.4 mi 13.5 km Ivy Ridge CYN former service to 30th Street Station 7.6 mi 12.2 km Manayunk 6.4 mi 10.3 km Wissahickon Lincoln Drive and Wissahickon Creek Zone 2 1 5.5 mi 8.9 km East Falls 4.0 mi 6.4 km Allegheny Main Line to Glenside CYN to Cynwyd 2.9 mi 4.7 km North Broad BSL Zone 1 C 2.1 mi 3.4 km Temple University Spring Garden Street closed Reading Terminal closed 0.5 mi 0.8 km Jefferson MFL 0 mi 0 km Suburban Station BSL MFL 0.9 mi 1.4 km 30th Street MFL 1.8 mi 2.9 km Penn Medicine ELW to West Chester This diagram: view talk

The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a commuter rail line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and one of the 13 lines in SEPTA's Regional Rail network.

Route[]

The route originates from the Center City Rail tunnel, and the two-track line splits off from the "SEPTA Main Line" north of North Broad Station. It then goes through Philadelphia's East Falls and Manayunk neighborhoods and Conshohocken before reaching Norristown. At Norristown Transportation Center, commuters can transfer to SEPTA surface buses or the SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line to 69th Street Transportation Center. From Norristown Transportation Center, the electrified line follows the single track Stony Creek Branch to terminate at Elm Street, while the double tracked main line continues to Reading. The Reading main west of Norristown currently carries no passenger service, and is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway as its Harrisburg Line. Beyond the terminus of the Manayunk/Norristown Line at Elm Street, the Stony Creek Branch continues as a freight line operated by CSX Transportation and the Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad to Lansdale, where it ends at a junction with SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line just south of Lansdale station.

As of 2019, most weekday Manayunk/Norristown Line trains terminate at 30th Street Station or continue to various destinations such as Elwyn on the Media/Elwyn Line and Marcus Hook or Wilmington on the Wilmington/Newark Line. Most weekend Manayunk/Norristown Line trains continue to Elwyn on the Media/Elwyn Line.^[2]

History[]

The Manayunk/Norristown Line was the Reading Company's Norristown Branch from Philadelphia to Reading, Pennsylvania. Electrified service to Norristown and Chestnut Hill East began on February 5, 1933.^[3] Steam (and later diesel)-operated intercity services continued to operate beyond Norristown. By the 1960s Budd Rail Diesel Cars handled most of the Reading's diesel services, although the Reading's EMD FP7 locomotives, displaced from the Crusader, saw regular use on the Philadelphia–Reading run.^[4] SEPTA discontinued services beyond Norristown on July 26, 1981.^[5]

Between 1984–2010 the route was designated R6 Norristown as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Manayunk/Norristown Line trains operated through the city center to the Ivy Ridge Line (later Cynwyd) on the ex-Pennsylvania side of the system.^[6] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.^[7]

An outbound Manayunk/Norristown Line train at Norristown Transportation Center

Early in 2013, SEPTA began to undertake major operational improvements and physical rehabilitation on the Manayunk/Norristown Line. Central to this project is the replacement of the 80-year-old wayside automatic block signal system with one that displays only in the operating cab, and operates in both directions on both tracks, thereby allowing greater operational flexibility. Two new remotely controlled interlockings are being constructed to facilitate bidirectional operation, one at Miquon, the other in Norristown between the main station and the Ford Street crossing. An electrified storage track is also being constructed at Miquon to allow for temporary turnback of trains at that station, as the line is periodically subjected to flooding from the Schuylkill River around Spring Mill and Conshohocken. Ongoing replacement of the line's overhead catenary, most of which is 80 years old, will continue along with the signal replacement. Also occurring in conjunction with these projects are the replacement of crossties, renewal of grade crossing surfaces, and trimming of brush and trees alongside the right-of-way.^[8] The entire program is scheduled for completion in fall 2015, tying in with the FRA-mandated nationwide implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on American railroads by the end of 2015.^[9]

SEPTA activated PTC on the Manayunk/Norristown Line on August 15, 2016.^[10]

On April 9, 2020, service on the line was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic,^[11] though Temple University and North Broad stations were still being served by other rail services. Service resumed on June 28, 2020.^[12]

Proposed extensions beyond Norristown[]

Like the Cynwyd Line, the Manayunk/Norristown Line was slated to become part of the planned new Schuylkill Valley Metro, but was to serve the King of Prussia mall complex and the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Trenton Cut-Off line to Frazer, Pennsylvania. This was referred to by planners as the "Cross-County Segment." An extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line, called the Norristown Extension, to Wyomissing was later proposed, with funding to come through new tolls on U.S. Route 422.^[13][14]

As of mid-2018, the borough of Phoenixville is studying the restoration of SEPTA train service by extending the Manayunk/Norristown Line using old Reading Line track past Norristown, currently used for freight trains by Norfolk Southern along its Harrisburg Line.^[15] In 2018, a panel led by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance pushed for an extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line to Reading, with service terminating either at the Franklin Street Station in Reading or in Wyomissing. The proposed extension would utilize existing Norfolk Southern freight railroad tracks. Before service can be implemented, a study would need to take place.^[16]

In 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) finalized a study on the feasibility of extending passenger train service from Norristown to Reading along the Norfolk Southern freight line. The proposed extension is projected to cost $818 million, which includes buying the trains and paying Norfolk Southern to use the line. The service is projected to have an annual operating cost of between $18 million and $25 million. Stations will be located in Reading (Franklin Street Station), Birdsboro, Pottstown, Royersford, Phoenixville, Valley Forge, and Norristown (Norristown Transportation Center); from where the train will follow the existing Manayunk/Norristown Line to Philadelphia.^[17][18][19] As the section between Reading and Norristown is not electrified, the service will either require dual mode locomotives or the extension of electrification beyond Norristown in order to provide a one-seat ride between Reading and Philadelphia; another option would be to operate diesel-powered trains between Reading and Norristown that would offer a transfer to electric-powered trains at Norristown for service to Philadelphia. In addition, a third track would need to be constructed between Reading and Norristown in order to accommodate both passenger service and Norfolk Southern freight trains. The proposal calls for between 6 and 9 daily round trips to Reading and has a projected weekday ridership between 3,400 and 6,400 by 2030.^[19] Following the PennDOT feasibility study, a feasibility study by Norfolk Southern needs to be conducted and the proposal needs to be added to the PennDOT rail plan, which would allow for Federal Railroad Administration grants to be used for studies of the proposed service.^[18]

As part of the process of implementing passenger train service from Norristown to Reading, county commissioners from Berks, Chester, and Montgomery counties will create the Tri-County Passenger Rail Committee, which will consist of three members named by each county.^[20]

Rail service between Reading and Philadelphia along the Norfolk Southern line is included in Amtrak's service vision for 2035.^[21] In August 2021, Amtrak revealed their plan for train service from Reading to Philadelphia and New York City. Train service would follow the Norfolk Southern line, SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line, and Amtrak's Keystone Corridor between Reading and Philadelphia and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Philadelphia and New York City. Station stops will be located in Reading, Pottstown, Phoenixville, King of Prussia, Norristown, Philadelphia (30th Street Station), North Philadelphia, Cornwells Heights, Trenton, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick, Metropark, Newark Airport, Newark (Penn Station), and New York City (Penn Station). Service would include three daily roundtrips and travel time would take 1 hour and 37 minutes between Reading and Philadelphia and 2 hours and 55 minutes between Reading and New York City.^[22][23]

Stations[]

The Norristown Transportation Center is a major hub

Miquon station

The Manayunk/Norristown Line makes the following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with a gray background are closed.

Zone[24]	Location	Station	Miles (km) from Center City	Connections / notes
C	Callowhill, Philadelphia	Spring Garden Street		On the former line to Reading Terminal, closed November 6, 1984[25]
	Temple University	Temple University	2.1 (3.4)	SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines
1	Glenwood, Philadelphia	North Broad	2.9 (4.7)	SEPTA Regional Rail: Lansdale/Doylestown Line SEPTA City Transit: Broad Street Line SEPTA City Bus: 4, 16, 54
	Allegheny West, Philadelphia	Allegheny	4.0 (6.4)	SEPTA City Bus: 33, 60
	East Falls, Philadelphia	East Falls	5.5 (8.9)	SEPTA City Bus: K
2	Wissahickon, Philadelphia	Wissahickon Transportation Center	6.4 (10.3)	SEPTA City Bus: 9, 27, 61, 62, 65
	Manayunk, Philadelphia	Manayunk	7.6 (12.2)	SEPTA City Bus: 35, 61, 62
	Roxborough, Philadelphia	Ivy Ridge	8.4 (13.5)	SEPTA City Bus: 61, 62
		Shawmont	9.4 (15.1)	Closed November 10, 1996[26]
	Miquon	Miquon	10.7 (17.2)
3	Conshohocken	Spring Mill	12.3 (19.8)
		Conshohocken	13.5 (21.7)	SEPTA Suburban Bus: 95, 97
		Ivy Rock	15.3 (24.6)	Closed 1983
		Mogees	15.9 (25.6)	Discontinued on October 4, 1992[27]
	Norristown	Norristown Transportation Center	17.2 (27.7)	SEPTA Suburban Transit: Norristown High Speed Line SEPTA Suburban Bus: 90, 91, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 131
		Norristown–Main Street	17.7 (28.5)	SEPTA Suburban Bus: 90, 91, 93, 131
		Marshall Street	17.9 (28.8)	Closed 1959[28]
		Norristown–Elm Street	18.1 (29.1)

Former diesel service[]

Prior to July 26, 1981, RDC diesel trains operated north of Norristown to Reading and Pottsville. Until 2011, SEPTA had considered restoring service as far as Reading as part of the Schuylkill Valley Metro project. These plans are currently on hold. The following is a list of stations formerly served by SEPTA.

Ridership[]

Between FY 2008–FY 2018 yearly ridership on the Manayunk/Norristown Line has ranged between 2.9 million–3.1 million.^{[note 1]}

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• "SEPTA – Manayunk/Norristown line schedule" (PDF).