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. Since 2014, there have been no plans to move forward with the project.[1]
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.[2]
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.[2]
Due to the ill-fated $2 billion Schuylkill Valley Metro (SVM) project, the Greenline proposal received support from regional politicians and businesses.[2] The Greenline remains part of the Chester County Transportation Improvements Inventory (TII) document for 2009-2010.[3] No funding has been allocated for design or construction.
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, new ballast was added and drainage was significantly improved. In addition, grade crossings received additional protective hardware, including flashers, bells, and gates.[4] However over time industries along the line either closed or switched to trucks. Freight service continued through 2004, when the last 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.[5][6]
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.
Gannett Fleming Inc. (April 2008). (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-02.
External links
(archived link)
(archived link)
"New rail line proposed in Chester County" - 6 ABC news report 2011-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
January 30, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s general notability guideline Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources Greenline Pennsylvania news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Not to be confused with Green Line Pittsburgh or Green Line Philadelphia 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 Since 2014 there have been no plans to move forward with the project 1 GreenlineOverviewStatusCanceledOwnerNorfolk Southern RailwayLocaleUpper Schuylkill Valley PennsylvaniaTerminiOaks PennsylvaniaPaoli PennsylvaniaStations18ServiceTypeTram trainTechnicalLine length18 miles 29 kilometres Track gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in Route mapLegendAmtrak amp Paoli Thorndale LinePaoli Transportation CenterAmtrak amp Paoli Thorndale LineUS 202WyethWorthington VanguardSwedesford RoadValley Stream EastValley Stream WestGreat Valley ParkwayAtwaterCommons at Great ValleyPickeringWilmerIronsidesFranklin StreetPhoenixville Transportation CenterMont ClarePort ProvidenceLongford RoadOaks Park Ride Route 422 MarketplaceThis diagram viewtalkedit Contents 1 Planning 2 Route 3 Equipment 3 1 Diesel electric DMUs 3 2 RDCs 4 List of proposed stations 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksPlanning EditCitizens 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 2 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 2 Due to the ill fated 2 billion Schuylkill Valley Metro SVM project the Greenline proposal received support from regional politicians and businesses 2 The Greenline remains part of the Chester County Transportation Improvements Inventory TII document for 2009 2010 3 No funding has been allocated for design or construction Route EditThe proposed route was to originate in Oaks Pennsylvania with the Oaks terminal situated at the new Greater Philadelphia Expo Center At Oaks The route would utilize Norfolk Southern Railway s NS out of service 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 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 new ballast was added and drainage was significantly improved In addition grade crossings received additional protective hardware including flashers bells and gates 4 However over time industries along the line either closed or switched to trucks Freight service continued through 2004 when the last 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 5 6 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 6 Equipment Edit Diesel electric diesel multiple unit cars currently used on New Jersey Transit s River LINE were considered for the Greenline Diesel electric DMUs Edit 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 2 RDCs Edit Refurbished RDC unit currently operating on Cape May Seashore Lines in Cape May New Jersey 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 EditOaks Park Ride Route 422 Marketplace Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks Longford Road Port Providence Mont Clare Phoenixville Phoenixville Transportation Center Franklin Street Ironsides Wilmer Pothouse Road Pickering Commons at Great Valley Atwater Great Valley Great Valley Parkway Valley Stream West Valley Stream East Swedesford Road Worthington Vanguard Wyeth Paoli Transportation CenterSee also EditSchuylkill Valley Metro Paoli Thorndale LineReferences Edit Blog Is Phoenixville Moving Forward Or Not 24 March 2012 a b c d philadelphia bizjournals com Retrieved March 2 2009 Chester County PA Official Website Official Website PDF permanent dead link Greenline assessment prepared by Gannett Fleming Inc PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2008 09 07 Retrieved 2009 02 17 Surface transportation Board Discontinuance of Service Exemption Retrieved February 20 2010 a b Citizens for the Train Archived from the original on 2009 09 29 Further reading EditGannett Fleming Inc April 2008 Phoenixville Main Line Passenger Rail Assessment PDF Report Archived from the original PDF on 2010 11 02 External links EditCitizens for the Train archived link Greenline Rail Corridor archived link New rail line proposed in Chester County 6 ABC news report Archived 2011 06 28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Greenline Pennsylvania amp oldid 1128309900, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
