Manayunk/Norristown Line

Manayunk/Norristown Line
A Manayunk/Norristown train at Main Street station
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	SEPTA Regional Rail
Status	Operating
Termini	30th Street Station Elm Street, Norristown
Stations	16
Daily ridership	11,038[1]:94
Line number	Formerly R6
Website	septa.org
Operation
Owner	SEPTA Regional Rail
Operator(s)	SEPTA Regional Rail
Rolling stock	Electric Multiple Units
Technical
Line length	18.1 mi (29.1 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Catenary
Route map Pottsville Schuylkill Haven Auburn Hamburg Shoemakersville Mohrsville Leesport Outer Station NS Harrisburg Line Reading Birdsboro Pottstown Royersford Phoenixville Valley Forge Port Kennedy Lansdale/Doylestown Line to Doylestown Lansdale Lansdale/Doylestown Line to 30th Street Station Kneedler West Point Acorn Belfry Custer Hartranft Hospital Stony Creek Branch Elm Street Marshall Street Main Street Norristown Trans- portation Center NS Trenton Cutoff Mogees Ivy Rock Conshohocken Spring Mill Fare Zone 3 2 Miquon Shawmont Ivy Ridge Cynwyd Line to 30th Street Station Manayunk Wissahickon Viaduct over Lincoln Drive and Wissahickon Creek Fare Zone 2 1 East Falls Allegheny SEPTA Main Line North Broad Fare Zone 1 Center City Temple University Spring Garden Street Reading Terminal Jefferson Station Suburban Station 30th Street Station SEPTA Regional Rail New Jersey Transit & Amtrak

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, Pennsylvania before reaching Norristown. At Norristown Transportation Center, commuters can transfer to regular SEPTA surface buses or the SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line to 69th Street Terminal. 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.

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.^[2] 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.^[3] SEPTA discontinued services beyond Norristown on July 26, 1981.^[4]

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.^[5]The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.^[6]

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 is currently proposed, with funding to come through new tolls on U.S. Route 422.^[7][8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

SEPTA activated PTC on the Manayunk/Norristown Line on August 15, 2016.^[11]

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 italics are closed. Weekday boardings are from FY 2013; data for Temple University and North Broad include all lines serving those stations.^[1]:95–96

Former diesel service

Prior to July 26, 1981, RDC diesel trains operated north of Norristown to Reading and Pottsville. Until 2011, SEPTA had considering 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 2014 yearly ridership on the Manayunk/Norristown Line has ranged between 2.9 million–3.1 million.^{[1]:94[12][13][14][15][16][17]}

Notes

References

External links

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