2018 Review: Rail Project Would Make Phoenixville 'New Main Line'

2018 finally brought local residents what has been talked about, hoped for, and doubted for years: a proposal to bring passenger rail service to Phoenixville, and two other stations in the immediate area.

Numerous benefits to the line have been touted, ranging from reducing traffic and making the region more enviromentally friendly to improving real estate values. Mayor Peter Urscheler said in a statement earlier in the year that "it will be like we are creating a new Main Line with rail project."

Skeptics point to the plethora of other similar projects that have been proposed over the years, and defeated for various reasons. Funding is always a concern; one rail proposal earlier in the decade called for Route 422 to be tolled. Some are worried about population increases, others about tax increases.

Here's a review of our coverage of this story, from its genesis in the spring to the latest updates on where everything stands this fall

April 18: New Regional Rail Proposal Would Connect Phoenixville To Philly

Preliminary talks are officially underway to bring passenger rail service to Phoenixville.

Developers are proposing two alternatives. The first option, which has been formally presented, involves extending the Manayunk/Norristown line into Phoenixville. Because the infrastructure for this line is already largely in place, it is the cheaper and quicker alternative.

A second project is a longer term "greeline" project, which would connect Phoenixville to the Paoli Train Station on the Main Line.

A presentation was given by Phoenixville developer Manny DeMutis to Phoenixville's Borough Council on Tuesday night. The council agreed that the borough would act as the political subdivision sponsoring an official feasibility study, funded by the DeMutis Group, officials confirmed.

Talks of bringing passenger rail service to Phoenixville have been swirling for years, if not decades. Local leaders have strongly advocated for a rail line that would reduce traffic along the increasingly busy Route 422 corridor, with specific concern for the ongoing commercial and residential growth in the Phoenixville area. Advocates of past proposals have also pointed towards environmental benefits.

There are, of course, complications. Developers propose connecting Phoenixville to the Manayunk/Norristown line via both the existing non-electrified Norfolk Southern freight track, and via SEPTA's electrified track through the Center City Connector Tunnel. In their announcement outlining the proposal, the DeMutis Group pointed to "institutional issues" which could complicate access to the Norfolk Southern tracks, meaning that it's no sure thing that access to existing stations, parking areas, and even the tracks themselves would be granted.

Organizers said that the rail would initially operate in a "demonstration" phase for two years, during which the train would run during weekday peak-periods only, in order to show its viability. After two years, if successful, officials said the service offerings would grow.

While the second Phoenixville-Paoli proposal would not be immediately implemented, officials said consideration of its creation is important now because the new Paoli Transportation Center project is currently underway, and that Center needs to be designed in a way that could handle the potential greenline from Phoenixville.

That plan could potentially be complicated by right-of-way issues, as the greenline would likely need to pass through private property along Route 29.

Petitions from citizens, pleas from local lawmakers, and even proposals by college students relating to a Phoenixville area rail have been swirling over the past few years. SEPTA recently approved a plan to extend the Norristown High Speed Line into King of Prussia, leaving many wondering why the Route 422 corridor had been left behind.

The notion of converting freight tracks for passenger use has been brought up before. Another proposal, the Schuylkill Valley Metro, proposed a 62 mile rail utilizing both Norfolk Southern Railway freight lines in combination with the existing Manayunk-Norristown line and Cynwyd line.

In the short term, the latest proposal for the borough council asks for a 20 person taskforce, which will include three borough council members.

Former Phoenixville Revitalization Coordinator Barry Cassidy has been put in charge of the project.

The detailed proposal will be presented before Phoenixville's borough council for vote on May 8.

May 9: Regional Rail Plan Moving Forward

The mayor of Phoenixville has put together a 20-person team to study the feasibility of a proposed plan to connect Phoenixville by rail to Philadelphia and the Main Line, following an approval of the move by the Borough Council on Tuesday night.

It marks an important, if preliminary, step forward for the project. The 20-person task force is comprised of local leaders and key members of the community. The project is being funded by local developer Manny DeMutis.

"There is a need to increase public transportation options to Phoenixville with the recent expansion of residential units in the downtown," DeMutis said. "There have been 809 new apartments in the downtown and 440 houses built in the borough equating to approximately 2500 new residents. The professional planners must recognize and respond to the reality that Phoenixville is the growing population center in Chester County and has become a small city."

Thomas E. Frawley Consulting will conduct the feasibility study.

"Phoenixville's downtown revitalization has been so successful that everyone wants to live near our walkable downtown entertainment district," DeMutis added. "All we are doing is responding to need."

The members of the task force include: Catherine Bianco, Gerri Bocella, Carol Bouche, Karl Bucas, Patrice Callahan, Ann Cummins, Conor Cummins, Jeremy Dalton, Paul Drucker, Jonathan Ewald, Brooke Ginty, Megan Inmon, Alex Teplyakov, David Meadows, Marian Moskowitz, Michael Murray, Bill Sauerteig, Edwin Soto, Lesley Snyder and Adam Supplee. Chris Hoops will serve as recording secretary, officials said.

Aug. 8: Phoenixville Rail Project Taking Shape; 3 New Stations Proposed

The latest development calls for three new stops on SEPTA's Manayunk-Norristown line in King of Prussia, Schuylkill Township, and Phoenixville. The new stations would cost about $15 million. The committee charged with studying the feasibility of the project, made up of 20 local leaders and key community members, voted unanimously to approve this part of the plan recently.

"The professional planners must recognize and respond to the reality that Phoenixville is a quickly growing population center in Chester County and now has become a small city," said local developer Manny DeMutis, who is funding the feasibility study.

Developers propose connecting Phoenixville to the Manayunk/Norristown line via both the existing non-electrified Norfolk Southern freight track, and via SEPTA's electrified track through the Center City Connector Tunnel. The new stations would be located along this existing infrastructure, ostensibly speeding the development process.

There are three proposed station sites in Phoenixville: the Phoenix Industrial Complex on 41 South 2nd Avenue, the Holy Ghost Orthodox Catholic Church, and a piece of railroad property located along Bridge Street.

Thomas E. Frawley is in charge of the feasibility study. Attendees at the latest meeting included representatives from both SEPTA and Chester County, indicating the seriousness with which this proposal is being considered.

The approval at the recent meeting means that the proposal will move forward into the borough's Infrastructure Committee to be presented on Aug. 17. Assuming it passes there, it will go to the full borough council for a vote on Sept. 11.

These meetings and approvals do not mean that the final project will immediately become a reality. They mean that Phoenixville is well on the way to green-lighting the project on its own end. As Mayor Urscheler noted, the process is far from over. But he believes it is a promising start.

These meetings and approvals do not mean that the final project will immediately become a reality. They mean that Phoenixville is well on the way to green-lighting the project on its own end. As Mayor Urscheler noted, the process is far from over. But he believes it is a promising start.

"There are a plethora of entities involved, and before we start contacting people, we need to get an assurance that this is something that the Borough of Phoenixville wants," he said. "The Borough will have the two meetings to discuss the issues and determine if the Mayor's Task Force moves forward to secure more facts and do additional stakeholder analysis through the citizen planner process."

In Schuylkill Township, proposed station sites include the Valley Forge Sewer Authority and another railroad property further down the line.

And in King of Prussia, four sites for the station have been proposed, including Port Kennedy on the north side of the railroad, the historic Port Kennedy Station, the nearby bridge construction site, and Mancill Mill.

Oct 29: Norfolk Southern Says No To Phoenixville Passenger Rail

Norfolk Southern is not interested in the project to bring passenger rail to Phoenixville as it is currently designed, according to sources, and this has been the company's position since the summer.

Rudy Husband, the vice president for the major railway, told Royersford Borough last week that they remain a "firm no" on the preliminary plan, according to information shared on the borough's Facebook page Monday. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Norfolk told Patch Monday that the major railway has no official position because they have not received an official proposal.

Organizers behind the rail proposal are meeting Monday night to discuss Norfolk's comments and to determine a direction forward, project manager Barry Cassidy said.

The official proposal is the crux of the issue for the project, which would connect the Route 422 corridor to the Manayunk/Norristown Line utilizing Norfolk's existing non-electrified freight track. The company, known for transporting coal around the nation, has extensive requirements for any passenger rails which would use their lines (a copy of the guidelines submitted to Royersford borough, which are dated Jan. 2018, are included at the bottom of this article).

"It's a challenging situation, to mix passenger trains with local freight," Norfolk spokesperson Jonathan Glass said.

Norfolk must be compensated for insurance and indemnity for risk, which carries "substantial" cost, the railway said, citing their experience with other commuter authorities on past projects.

The plan must allow for both passenger and freight trains to operate without delay. And a year-long feasability study, fully funded by a sponsoring public agency but executed by Norfolk Southern, must be undertaken, per the guidelines, "so that Norfolk Southern could fully understand the potential impacts," Glass added.

In their statement to Royersford, Norfolk said their line which runs through the Phoenixville area is among their more highly used lines, that growth is expected, and that it would not be able to accomodate the additional passenger rail traffic. They reportedly added that their position on passenger rail "has not changed nor do they expect it to."

The feasability study referenced above is not the same as the private pilot feasability study, funded by developer Manny DeMutis, which was launched in April and reignited interest in this long-discussed issue.

Oct. 30: Task Force Confident Phoenixville Passenger Rail Will Happen

Developers are confident passenger rail to Phoenixville can still happen, as steps were taken Monday night to keep the project moving forward. The projected timeline has been pushed back, but a $110,000 operational study was authorized, a key requirement.

This comes in the wake of news that Norfolk Southern was not interested in letting its non-electrified freight tracks be used for the potential project due to an inability to handle the additional traffic. This was according to a statement released Monday by Royersford Borough that was disputed by developers.

"I believe that there was misinterpretation of the document that was presented to Royersford by Norfolk Southern," said project manager Barry Cassidy. "The document offers a very clear path for the establishment of passenger rail service."

Cassidy acknowledged that in a recent meeting between the Mayor's Task Force and Norfolk Southern, the railway giant said "no," and often.

"All those 'nos' were noted and changes in the program were initiated," Cassidy said.
Some of the key changes which Norfolk required: no "demonstration" period, where the passenger rail runs on a test basis, is permitted. A full schedule must be initiated from the start. Another key point: SEPTA must be the operator, which would not seem to be a major hurdle given that the plan calls for an extension of SEPTA's existing Manayunk/Norristown Line.

Other requirements as laid out in the Norfolk documents published by Patch yesterday remain considerable — for one, Norfolk must be compensated for insurance and indemnity for risk, which carries "substantial" cost — but they're not prohibitive, according to project organizers.

During a meeting on Monday evening, the Phoenixville Mayor's Task Force approved a $110,000 operational study. This study must then studied in turn by Norfolk Southern before final approval. SEPTA, of course, must also be on board with the plan.

As a result of changes made to the plan, Cassidy said the timeline for the beginning of service has been shifted from 18 months to 30 months. But it's still a go.

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