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The Philadelphia Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society

Established in 1936

 

Railfan Pictures of the Week - 01/27/2013


SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line Bridgeport PA January 9 2013
 

When we last left Flash .... uh, the Norristown High Speed Line .... SEPTA was warning everyone that unless someone dropped a big bag of cash down at 1234 Market Street, the bridge over the Schuylkill River between Bridgeport and Norristown would be closed indefinitely this summer.

Thinking in completely the opposite direction, this week SEPTA is hosting meetings in Valley Forge, Villanova and Norristown touting the future of the NHSL: the extension to King of Prussia (known by many as the mall with a town in there somewhere). The most optimistic time frame for completion is about a decade from now and the current cost estimate is in the $400M range. The project has been on the radar for about a decade already and the costs will do nothing but go up, but next to the extension of the R3 to Wawa, it is probably one of the better bets for new rail in the Philadelphia area (remember the Cross County Metro????).

 
If the line is cut back to Bridgeport, the initial assumption was that the station there would require bit of work to make it ADA-compliant. But that was just looking at the current station, because just to the south on the northbound-side is what could "generously" be called a station. Constructed of wood, it could fit the bill for a period of time while alternatives are explored.
Not much to look at ....
but it has what the current station lacks: ramp access to the platform.
A possible solution would be having trains terminate at the wooden platform where they could also pick up and discharge handicapped passengers and make the bus connection to the Norristown Transportation Center, then run up to the current station for the reverse move heading back to 69th Street.
 
 

All pictures January 9 2013 Copyright © 2013 John P. Almeida

Photographs for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited.

 
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Last Updated January 27, 2013


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