Manayunk/Norristown Line

Manayunk/Norristown Line
The former Shawmont Reading Railroad station which can be found along the Manayunk/Norristown Line between Ivy Ridge and Miquon
Overview
Type	Commuter rail line
System	SEPTA
Status	Operating
Termini	30th Street Station Elm Street, Norristown
Stations	16
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
Route map Legend SEPTA Regional Rail New Jersey Transit & Amtrak 30th Street Station Suburban Station Jefferson Station Reading Terminal Temple University Fare Zone Center City 1 North Broad SEPTA Main Line Allegheny East Falls Fare Zone 1 2 Viaduct over Wissahickon Creek and Lincoln Drive Wissahickon Manayunk(lower level) Ivy Ridge(lower level) Shawmont Miquon Fare Zone 2 3 Spring Mill Conshohocken Ivy Rock Mogees NS Trenton Cutoff Norristown Trans- portation Center NS Harrisburg Line Main Street Marshall Street Stoney Creek Branch (freight only) electric service Elm Street diesel powered service ended 1981 Valley Forge Phoenixville Royersford Pottstown Birdsboro Reading Leesport Mohrsville Shoemakersville Hamburg Auburn Schuylkill Haven Pottsville

The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line running from Center City Philadelphia to the Elm Street station in Norristown, Montgomery County.

Route and operations

See also: SEPTA Diesel Service

The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a regular-schedule portion of the former R6 commuter rail segment. Prior to 1981, it served as the electrified commuter segment of the Reading Company's main line to Reading, Pennsylvania. Service from Philadelphia to Reading and Pottsville on this line was handled by RDC diesel trains in addition to electrified service to Norristown. Since July 27, 1981, however, all service on this line has been truncated to the electrified segment. Electrified service to Norristown (and Chestnut Hill East) was opened on February 5, 1933.

Like the Cynwyd, Chestnut Hill East, and Chestnut Hill West lines, the Manayunk/Norristown route was a "competition" line, although the Norristown line was originally one of the oldest segments of the old Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad that was a predecessor to the Reading Company.

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.

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. This extension will restore service to Reading that SEPTA canceled in 1981.

Most weekday trains terminate downtown (30th Street Station). Some weekday and most weekend trains continue to or from the Wilmington/Newark Line (origin/destination Marcus Hook, Wilmington, or Newark).

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. 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.

Name change

On July 25, 2010 SEPTA renamed the service from the R6 Norristown to simply the Manayunk/Norristown Line as part of system-wide service change that drops the R-number naming and makes the Center City stations the terminus for all lines.

Station list

Boldface indicates a major station.

Zone	Milepost	Station	Boardings	City/Township	County	Notes
C		Spring Garden	0	Philadelphia		station closed 1984
	2.1	Temple University	3,028			moved to its present location in 1992
	2.9	North Broad	103
1	4.0	Allegheny	76			formerly 22nd Street
	5.5	East Falls	625
2	6.4	Wissahickon	410			Aerial photo
	7.6	Manayunk	654
	8.4	Ivy Ridge	602			lower level; stairs added to connect from upper level Ivy Ridge station on closed section of Cynwyd Line
	9.4	Shawmont	0			station closed November 10, 1996 (This is the oldest extant U.S. purpose-built railroad station. Built in 1834, it was possibly designed by William Strickland.)
	10.7	Miquon	483	Whitemarsh	Montgomery
3	12.3	Spring Mill	378
	13.5	Conshohocken	646	Conshohocken
	15.3	Ivy Rock	0	Plymouth		station closed prior to 1983
	15.8	Mogees	0			station closed October 4, 1992
	17.2	Norristown Transportation Center	848	Norristown		formerly DeKalb Street
	17.7	Main Street	181
	17.9	Marshall Street	0			station closed
	18.1	Elm Street	300

Former diesel service

R6 Pottsville
Prior to July 29, 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. Boardings are based on the average daily ridership from Spring 1981 (except Leesport, which is Fall 1979).

Zone	Milepost	Station	Boardings	Location	County	Notes
4	21.5	Valley Forge Park	16	Off Route 23; west of the Betzwood/U.S. 422 bridge	Montgomery
5	27.7	Phoenixville	82	Bridge and Hall Streets	Chester	Station currently serves as a catering hall
	32.0	Royersford	76	Main Street between First and Second Avenues	Montgomery
6	39.1	Pottstown	143	High and Hanover Streets
7	49.5	Birdsboro	2	South Center Road (PA 345)	Berks
8	58.1	Reading (Franklin Street)	205	Franklin and Chestnut Streets
	66.3	Leesport	1	Wall Street		station closed by Fall 1979, shelter abandoned
	68.6	Mohrsville	3	Mohrsville Road
	70.0	Shoemakersville	3	Main Street
	75.3	Hamburg	14	Station Road		South of Reading Railroad Heritage Museum (Pennsylvania Steel Complex)
9	83.5	Auburn	3	Front and Market Streets	Schuylkill
10	89.1	Schuylkill Haven	10	Main Street
	93.6	Pottsville	107	East Union Street		Station site demolished, track removed

Ridership

Fiscal year	Average weekday	Annual passengers
FY 2014	11,038	3,177,775
FY 2013	10,478	3,016,610
FY 2012	10,114	2,911,854
FY 2011	10,632	3,060,900
FY 2010	10,360	2,941,073
FY 2009	10,660	3,026,451
FY 2008	10,370	2,944,000
FY 2005	7,454	2,147,596
FY 2004	7,402	2,077,720
FY 2003	7,539	1,964,100
FY 2001	n/a	1,982,000
FY 2000	n/a	1,790,000
FY 1999	n/a	1,401,000
FY 1997	n/a	1,439,611
FY 1996	n/a	1,412,494
FY 1995	4,656	1,321,785
FY 1994	4,321	865,618
FY 1993	2,731	427,407
Note: n/a = not available

Ridership in 1993 was affected by RailWorks, which shut down the line for several months that year. Most commuters found alternative means of transportation during and after the shutdown.

External links

• SEPTA – Manayunk/Norristown line schedule PDF