Nexis4Jersey OP t1_j5f486f wrote on January 22, 2023 at 3:47 PM

Reply to comment by blue5801 in My Pennsylvania Intercity & Regional Rail Proposal by Nexis4Jersey

I don't think a huge parking lot is planned for West Chester it's considered a city stop and SEPTA seems to want to trend away from large parking lots in favor of TOD stations. The City and County are actively pushing for service to restart so it's more or less a funding issue. I am somewhat hopefully that the new Governor gives more funding to agency along with getting the feds to fund the backlog of large projects.

blue5801 t1_j5f66e9 wrote on January 22, 2023 at 4:01 PM

They can actively push all they want but unless they're going to pay to restring the catenary wire, rebuild several bridges and track, it's not happening. A look at the 104 bus shows that septa service to West Chester isn't particularly busy once you go past 476 on West Chester Pike.

There's a lot more pressing issues that the governor can fix in the Commonwealth that should probably come before we start looking at increased rail service on a system that needs to have it's board and management team axed... I personally would like to see more money funneled into repairing the bridges and roads over train service.

courageous_liquid t1_j5fl2hb wrote on January 22, 2023 at 5:41 PM

> A look at the 104 bus shows that septa service to West Chester isn't particularly busy once you go past 476 on West Chester Pike.

Because it blows. From my house in south philly it would take me 2 hours to get to west chester via the 104. It's easier to just get a zipcar and deal with 95/476 or the schuylkill/202 or take the regional rail and picked up at wawa.

I'd love the west chester line as it's one of the major places in the philly burbs where there's just no good way to get to. I realize there are significant setbacks and it'll be a decade before it runs again even if the political stuff gets ironed out quickly, but judging by the traffic I've seen getting off at wawa, it might have some legs. Before wawa opened, that line would have like 3-4 people still on the train getting off at elwyn off-peak, the last train I took out there on the weekend, both cars were about half full and getting off at wawa.

blue5801 t1_j5fmbas wrote on January 22, 2023 at 5:49 PM

The problem with Elwyn is that it's in the middle of nowhere on the school grounds. Media probably got the most passengers on the line (those who don't want to take the trolley or 110 bus from 69th st).

Unfortunately past Wawa before Glen Mills, a lot of the line has issues. I believe there's several bridges that are falling apart which are the biggest projects and would cost the most to replace.

I'm not saying the service isn't there, but if they were to merge Cheyney into West Chester university and use it as an overflow school and them picking up some of the fare costs, for students, it might make Septa want to increase train service to West Chester. Until that time, increased service to Exton is probably going to be the best bet.

courageous_liquid t1_j5fnzei wrote on January 22, 2023 at 5:59 PM

Even media is basically dead outbound off-peak, in my experience. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) swarthmore seems like it's the stop on the line with the most traffic off-peak.

Elwyn is crazy busy on-peak, people park dangerously on the street and you can't get a spot unless you're there by like 7am in the morning. It's a huge collector for that side of delco.

But yes, the infrastructure issues are a huge hurdle, which is why I don't actually see anything practical happening in the next decade, even if that other agency that wants to buy the trainset gets fully funded.

Nexis4Jersey OP t1_j5f7m35 wrote on January 22, 2023 at 4:11 PM

The estimated cost is around 300 million for new tracks , small yard , 4 new/rebuilt stations , and catenary. The 104 bus is a different service corridor and a slower one. I would replace it will a Suburban Trolley service from 69th Street to 476 and the 103 as well... The remaining underused portion could be cut completed or reduced. The State has a backlog of Critical rail projects that need to be funded so those will likely go first along with the various bridge and road rebuilds...