SEPTA and BARTA Push Forward with Plans for the Schuylkill Valley Metrorail Line

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). In the mid-1990's, SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) and BARTA (Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority) joined forces to examine the potential for providing rail transit service to the 62 mile SVM (Schuylkill Valley Metro) Corridor. The corridor, comprised of 51 municipalities, needed some considerable relief from highway congestion, in what many consider the fastest growing area in southeastern Pennsylvania.

After considerable study, several plans were developed. Of these plans it was determined that a light rail and/or commuter rail line would be the most beneficial and cost efficient. Thus was born the Schuylkill Metrorail Line Project. Running from the City of Philadelphia to Spring Township, the rail line will utilize existing freight railroad right-of-ways, both active and unused, and generally parallel the Schuylkill River.

The public comment period on the MIS/DEIS (Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement) phase of the $1.6 billion project was completed on March 25, 2002. Now work is beginning on the next phase, the FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) and the Preliminary Engineering. Final Design is expected to begin in mid-2003, with construction kick-off scheduled for early 2004.

In addition to relieving existing congestion, the project will also have a considerable environmental impact. With the metropolitan Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton area of Pennsylvania having been designated a severe nonattainment area for ozone by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the PADEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection), the new metrorail line will reduce the emissions currently produced by automobiles in the area, somewhat relieving the ozone problem.

Some additional advantages of a metrorail line are its ability to share tracks with regional rail, Amtrak, and freight trains. It can use the existing Center City Tunnel, eliminating the need for the construction of a new tunnel. It can provide service to several areas of Philadelphia where rail service has not been available in the past. The departure schedules will be every 15 minutes during peak hours, and it runs off non-polluting electrical power.

In addition, the economic benefits of a project of this magnitude are immense, providing construction jobs and future employment to hundreds of local people when the line becomes operational in 2008.

All in all, the Schuylkill Valley Metrorail Line Project appears to be moving forward at a slow, yet steady pace and all indications are good that this project will indeed reach the construction stage and eventually become a huge boon for the southeastern Pennsylvania area.

In recent years, light rail has become more of a focus for federal, state, and local governments in both the United States and Canada. The potential environmental and economic benefits are enormous. In the last ten (10) years, Industrialinfo.com has tracked thirty-seven (37) light rail projects in the US and Canada representing an investment of over $27.8 billion.