Greenline (Pennsylvania)

Greenline
Overview
Type Tram-train
Status Cancelled
Locale Upper Schuylkill Valley, Pennsylvania
Termini Oaks, Pennsylvania
Paoli, Pennsylvania
Stations 18
Operation
Owner Norfolk Southern Railway
Technical
Line length 18 miles (29 kilometres)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Route map
 Amtrak / Paoli/Thorndale Line
Paoli Transportation Center
Amtrak / Paoli/Thorndale Line
U.S. Route 202 Expressway
Wyeth
Worthington/Vanguard
Swedesford Road
Valley Stream East
Valley Stream West
Great Valley Parkway
Atwater
Commons at Great Valley
Pickering
Wilmer
Ironsides
Franklin Street
Phoenixville Transportation Center
Mont Clare
Port Providence
Longford Road
Oaks Park-Ride/Route 422 Marketplace

The Greenline was a proposed $138 million mass transit line for the Upper Schuylkill Valley region in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The line was advocated by the group Citizens for the Train. Grant money needed to fund a feasibility study was not successfully obtained. As of 2012, there are no plans to move forward with the project.[1][2]

Planning

Citizens for the Train spearheaded the Greenline's planning stages, and concluded a preliminary study (performed by engineering firm Gannett Fleming Inc.) to determine the feasibility of the project. The group compiled $250,000 for an alternative analysis to see if a different transportation project, such as widening roads or adding bus routes, would work better. The study was slated for completion by the end of 2009.[3]

Citizens for the Train pursued an estimated $1.5 million for an environmental and engineering study. Funding for the project was sought from both public and private sources.[3]

Due to the ill-fated $2 billion Schuylkill Valley Metro (SVM) project, the Greenline proposal received support from regional politicians and businesses.[3] The Greenline remains part of the Chester County Transportation Improvements Inventory (TII) document for 2009-2010.[4] No funding has been allocated for design or construction.

Route

The proposed route was to originate in Oaks, Pennsylvania, with the Oaks terminal situated at the new Greater Philadelphia Expo Center At Oaks.[5] The route would utilize Norfolk Southern Railway's (NS) derelect 11-mile Phoenixville Industrial Track (former Pennsylvania Railroad Frazer Branch), with an additional seven miles of new railway construction built between end-of-track in Devault (where trains will be stored) and the current Amtrak/SEPTA Paoli Station.

The bulk of the route is the Phoenixville Industrial Track. Never a prominent line, the route gained momentum in its later years. With aid from PennDOT, the single-track line received a substantial infrastructure upgrade via Conrail in the late 1980s. New wooden ties were laid, and drainage was significantly improved. In addition, grade crossings received additional protective hardware, including flashers and gates.[6] Freight service continued through 2004, when sole customer American Sweetener Corporation, whose plant was located at the end of the line in Devault, closed its doors. NS applied to officially discontinue rail service on the line in October 2007, which became effective that December.[7][1]

The route transverses the Pickering Valley region, terminating at SEPTA's heavily used Paoli/Thorndale Line of commuter rail. Paoli Station also hosts Amtrak's Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian, serving trains en route to Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and New York City.[1]

Equipment

Diesel-electric diesel multiple unit cars currently used on New Jersey Transit's River LINE were considered for the Greenline

Diesel-electric DMUs

Several options for train equipment were being considered. One is the Stadler GTW-built diesel-electric DMU (diesel multiple unit) cars used on New Jersey Transit's River LINE.[3] Equipment was to be stored at the unused depot in Devault; these tracks were previously used by the Maslo paper company.[8]

Refurbished RDC unit currently operating on Cape May Seashore Lines in Cape May, New Jersey

The RiverLINE's unique rail cars offer a tighter turning radius than typical main line light rail vehicles, and thus are capable of the street running needed on Morehall Road. The rail cars are also used regularly in Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

RDCs

Another less expensive option was refurbished Budd Rail Diesel Cars, which last carried passengers through Phoenixville in July 1981 when SEPTA terminated all diesel trains between Pottsville and Philadelphia.

List of proposed stations

See also

External links

References

  1. 1 2 3 Citizens for the Train
  2. ↑ phoenixville.patch.com "Greenline not moving forward"
  3. 1 2 3 4 philadelphia.bizjournals.com; Retrieved March 2, 2009
  4. ↑ Chester County Transportation Improvements Inventory, p. 2
  5. ↑ Greater Philadelphia Expo Center At Oaks
  6. ↑ Greenline assessment prepared by Gannett Fleming Inc.
  7. ↑ "Surface transportation Board Discontinuance of Service Exemption". Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  8. ↑ Maslo Paper Company
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