@08phanatic.bsky.social
That's the biggest thing that makes me doubt the project is serious. Heard a question asked about state funding at one of the town halls and the answer was along the lines of 'We only need federal funding to get started and we'll figure out state funding when we get there'
January 5, 2026 at 6:03 PM
That's the biggest thing that makes me doubt the project is serious. Heard a question asked about state funding at one of the town halls and the answer was along the lines of 'We only need federal funding to get started and we'll figure out state funding when we get there'
As far as this vs an extension of SEPTA NOR, what they have more or less said is that they're doing this because BIL created a clear path to this whereas SEPTA to Reading has a fairly long history of failing to receive funding at this point.
January 5, 2026 at 2:00 PM
As far as this vs an extension of SEPTA NOR, what they have more or less said is that they're doing this because BIL created a clear path to this whereas SEPTA to Reading has a fairly long history of failing to receive funding at this point.
They see it operating an addition to the Keystone - dependent on additional capacity across the Hudson following completion of the gateway project.
January 5, 2026 at 1:59 PM
They see it operating an addition to the Keystone - dependent on additional capacity across the Hudson following completion of the gateway project.
Fwiw, their website still has service development plan winter 2025-2027 (with 0% progress as of now) and prelim engineering 2027-2028
January 5, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Fwiw, their website still has service development plan winter 2025-2027 (with 0% progress as of now) and prelim engineering 2027-2028
Probably necessary to make anything from Allentown competitive with driving
January 3, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Probably necessary to make anything from Allentown competitive with driving
Schools on the mainline tend to be more basketball focused, no?
August 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Schools on the mainline tend to be more basketball focused, no?
So unnerving to have cars on one side of you zipping around that turn doing 50 and this on the other side
July 11, 2025 at 2:49 AM
So unnerving to have cars on one side of you zipping around that turn doing 50 and this on the other side
Seems like something that doesn't add much right now, but becomes a game changer once RRR gets us 10- 15min headways at all the transfer points along that route
Also run it to Trenton for Amtrak transfers
Also run it to Trenton for Amtrak transfers
June 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Seems like something that doesn't add much right now, but becomes a game changer once RRR gets us 10- 15min headways at all the transfer points along that route
Also run it to Trenton for Amtrak transfers
Also run it to Trenton for Amtrak transfers
They're in service!!??
June 3, 2025 at 1:47 PM
They're in service!!??
SEPTA also distorts it with a fare penalty for RR. Intra-city trips usually don't make sense on RR because the bus / metro is cheaper, and the short distance keeps the time penalty from being too bad. Afaik, this is common in the US but not Europe where S-Bahn and RER are priced like metros
June 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
SEPTA also distorts it with a fare penalty for RR. Intra-city trips usually don't make sense on RR because the bus / metro is cheaper, and the short distance keeps the time penalty from being too bad. Afaik, this is common in the US but not Europe where S-Bahn and RER are priced like metros
In fairness, this is attempt number 3 this century. The last two were SEPTA extensions.
I think a good end game for this corridor is a Keystone like service running Harrisburg -> Reading -> Philly -> NYC on top of 20min RR headways to Pottstown. This project would be a decent first step.
I think a good end game for this corridor is a Keystone like service running Harrisburg -> Reading -> Philly -> NYC on top of 20min RR headways to Pottstown. This project would be a decent first step.
May 15, 2025 at 2:49 AM
In fairness, this is attempt number 3 this century. The last two were SEPTA extensions.
I think a good end game for this corridor is a Keystone like service running Harrisburg -> Reading -> Philly -> NYC on top of 20min RR headways to Pottstown. This project would be a decent first step.
I think a good end game for this corridor is a Keystone like service running Harrisburg -> Reading -> Philly -> NYC on top of 20min RR headways to Pottstown. This project would be a decent first step.
Purely on the rolling stock side, are the SEPTA Silverliners (at least the V's) already compatible with the proposed service patterns?
May 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Purely on the rolling stock side, are the SEPTA Silverliners (at least the V's) already compatible with the proposed service patterns?
Chronically short staffed and behind schedule is literally what efficiency looks like. Great service costs more money and is not efficient
May 4, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Chronically short staffed and behind schedule is literally what efficiency looks like. Great service costs more money and is not efficient
Funniest thing to me is that the one stretch of track outside CC that does have consistent level boarding is all those stations between Lansdale and Doylestown that get like 2 riders per day each
April 14, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Funniest thing to me is that the one stretch of track outside CC that does have consistent level boarding is all those stations between Lansdale and Doylestown that get like 2 riders per day each
Got down this rabbit hole recently. Here is the map, and a link to a (maybe the most?) recent upgrade. $15M / station applied to 107 more stations gets you to $1.6B to do the whole system. $ does not account for some stations being more challenging than Conshohocken. wwww.septa.org/news/conshoh...
April 14, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Got down this rabbit hole recently. Here is the map, and a link to a (maybe the most?) recent upgrade. $15M / station applied to 107 more stations gets you to $1.6B to do the whole system. $ does not account for some stations being more challenging than Conshohocken. wwww.septa.org/news/conshoh...
If there's an infinite source of revenue out there, we should probably use it to make nice things like frequent trains that run on time. Or even just re-pave the Schuylkill itself
April 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM
If there's an infinite source of revenue out there, we should probably use it to make nice things like frequent trains that run on time. Or even just re-pave the Schuylkill itself
Villanova's going to have to get SEPTA key advantage just so students can get from class to class
April 1, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Villanova's going to have to get SEPTA key advantage just so students can get from class to class
RBS and higher frequency on existing RR lines are lower hanging fruit. But this project really should be revived, ideally with a similar project serving Allentown. Those 2 cities and many of the small towns along the lines were built for frequent train service and are constrained without it.
January 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM
RBS and higher frequency on existing RR lines are lower hanging fruit. But this project really should be revived, ideally with a similar project serving Allentown. Those 2 cities and many of the small towns along the lines were built for frequent train service and are constrained without it.
I could see commissioners being concerned at the president of a venue built with no taxpayer funding
January 13, 2025 at 9:51 PM
I could see commissioners being concerned at the president of a venue built with no taxpayer funding
Implied at the start, but should have said at the end that he goes way past the point of diminishing return
I like @alonlevy.bsky.social's alt. proposal to get the same stretch to 47min with far lower impact ROW changes (but the trains do max at 200mph)
pedestrianobservations.com/2024/11/21/w...
I like @alonlevy.bsky.social's alt. proposal to get the same stretch to 47min with far lower impact ROW changes (but the trains do max at 200mph)
pedestrianobservations.com/2024/11/21/w...
We Have Northeast Corridor Runtimes
After finally looking at the options, we have a main low-investment proposal; the writeup will appear soon (optimistically this month, pessimistically next month). Here is the timetable for the fas…
pedestrianobservations.com
January 2, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Implied at the start, but should have said at the end that he goes way past the point of diminishing return
I like @alonlevy.bsky.social's alt. proposal to get the same stretch to 47min with far lower impact ROW changes (but the trains do max at 200mph)
pedestrianobservations.com/2024/11/21/w...
I like @alonlevy.bsky.social's alt. proposal to get the same stretch to 47min with far lower impact ROW changes (but the trains do max at 200mph)
pedestrianobservations.com/2024/11/21/w...
Reading, Lancaster, and even Harrisburg are all in, but Allentown and Bethlehem are out?
December 31, 2024 at 2:12 AM
Reading, Lancaster, and even Harrisburg are all in, but Allentown and Bethlehem are out?