SEPTA looks westward: SEPTA aims to ease highway congestion between Philadelphia and Reading with the $1.83 billion Schuylkill Valley MetroRail project. But is everyone on board? - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

Railway Age, June, 2002 by Christopher Ytuarte

When the Federal Transit Administration in January approved the start of preliminary engineering for the Schuylkill Valley MetroRail (SVM), it was seen as an important milestone for the largest expansion project the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority had embarked upon in years. Months later, SEPTA officials say they're pleased with continuing efforts to bring the SVM to life. Others feel that milestone may have been just another bump in the road.

Developed jointly by SEPTA and the Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority, the SVM project envisions a 74-mile electrified rail line serving the traffic-congested corridor between Philadelphia and Reading/Wyomissing, including a new, 40-mile extension that would run on a Norfolk Southern right-of-way. SEPTA proposes a shared access operating plan, with separate tracks built for MetroRail and combined single-and double tracking. The two parties have not yet come to an agreement.

"It is basically a modern commuter rail system with a lot of transit-type characteristics," says SEPTA's Director of Long-Range Planning David Fogel. "It would be fully electric, as is our current regional rail system, but it would have high-level platforms at stations for full accessibility and reduced dwell times.

The western suburbs of Philadelphia are areas that transit officials see as prime candidates for a rail line such as the SVM.

"A lot of the population and employment centers have gone further west," says Fogel. "So what this project should do is basically re-direct system capacity to where the demand is. Things have happened in the last 20-30 years in eastern Montgomery County and King of Prussia that really call for rail transit as soon as possible."

According to Fogel, the SVM would provide high-frequency transit service to an estimated 50,000 daily riders, as well as help contain the suburban sprawl occurring on the western outskirts of Philadelphia. "We want to work with the counties and the municipalities to have supportive land use decisions and transportation plans implemented that would encourage focusing of the growth in the older industrial and suburban centers," he says. "Not only would it be a more transit-friendly environment, but it will help contain and manage the growth that is eating up existing farm land and vacant space."

The MetroRail concept was deemed by local residents as the preferred alternative, according to the completed Draft Environmental Impact Statement. SEPTA calls MetroRail "an innovative approach that combines speed, capacity, and safety of commuter rail service with the operating efficiency, rider convenience, and economy of light rail."

The vehicles themselves would have wide, subway-car-type doors for easier boarding. SEPTA is working on a proof-of-payment system and one-person train operations to "reduce the operating cost so that we can put more money into frequent service," says Fogel. The project will require 15 new stations west of Norristown, and two new stations east of Norristown on the existing alignment. SEPTA is also proposing a station be built at 52nd Street in West Philadelphia.

The SVM would extend SEPTA's R6 regional rail line out of Norristown approximately 40 miles to Wyomissing, just west of Reading in Berks County. SEPTA says intermediate stops in Montgomery and Chester Counties, and on into Berks County, would gain new ridership and help decongest local highways. "We hope people will either use this as their sole form of transportation or do away with a second car, so that they'll have convenient transportation to Philadelphia and the major centers along the way, including Reading and King of Prussia," says Fogel. A large number of grade crossings will be equipped with "state-of-the-art" protection, and the entire SVM corridor will be powered by overhead catenary.

At this juncture, preliminary engineering has been approved by the FTA and $75 million in Federal New Start funding has been authorized in TEA-21, with $25.7 million of that appropriated by Congress. A DEIS has been completed, followed by a 45-day public review and comment period. Urban Engineers, teamed with STV Inc., are part of the preliminary engineering team. According to Fogel, SEPTA is anticipating an eight-year time frame for completion of the project, depending on how preliminary engineering goes.

But no project is without its challenges, especially one that requires the cooperation of a freight railroad.

"East of Norristown, the challengers are primarily operational, such as increasing the number of trains along the existing route into Philadelphia," says Fogel. "And high-level platforms will have some engineering challenges at stations. But the main engineering issues and opportunities will be west of Reading, including crossovers over the river and working within the existing roadbed as much as we can. Another key question is alignment and shared access with a freight railroad."

West of Norristown, SEPTA must work with trackage owned by Norfolk Southern, which is not as optimistic as SEPTA about the future of the SVM in its current configuration. "One of the advantages of having shared access is that the existing right-of-way is there, and the challenge is to work with Norfolk Southern so that we wouldn't have to widen the right-of-way," says Fogel.