Second of a Series: Potential SEPTA Connection Demo. In the first article of this series, posted on March 18, we introduced Pop-Up Metro, a concept that could introduce passenger service on lightly used railroads by providing a demonstration that would serve a target area for a limited time, and then generate actual ridership counts. In effect, it would produce the results that a forecasting study often generates, but at a lower cost and providing actual ridership data. rather than forecasts. There is talk of such a demonstration in the Philadelphia area that would connect with a line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which runs buses, trolleys, and trains in and near Philadelphia.
West Chester, Pa. is a historic town and the county seat of Chester County. The town dates from the 18th century and includes several historic buildings from that era. It is home to West Chester University, a component of Pennsylvania’s system of state colleges and universities. The town also had rail service at one time. It served essentially as an extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s (now SEPTA’s) line through Media, with limited service going further to West Chester. That service ended in 1986, purportedly because of poor track conditions, although the line is still intact. The route was extended to Wawa, which is on the way to West Chester, in 2022. SEPTA has been talking about West Chester service again, but the agency demands a large-scale capital investment to restore service.
That’s where Pop-Up Metro comes in. The object would be to run trains between Wawa and West Chester, with a few intermediate stops. The proposal would run service as a shuttle, connecting at Wawa with arriving trains from Philadelphia and trains returning to the city.
Local Officials Enthusiastic
The trip to Rockhill Furnace, a remote country town in central Pennsylvania, on July 17, 2023, was organized for the purpose of demonstrating the Pop-Up Metro system to West Chester officials and other interested persons. The objective was to interest West Chester in using the system to connect with SEPTA at Wawa. Thomas R. Hickey, a longtime rail manager who started at SEPTA and whose other credentials include General Manager of Port Authority Transit (PATCO, between Philadelphia and South Jersey) and Delaware’s State Rail Officer, is promoting the project as a benefit for the town. Railway Age Contributing Editor Alfred E. Fazio, who writes on technical subjects, was also there. So were some elected officials and Bill Rettew, a reporter for the local paper, the Daily Local News.
Rettew covered the trip from West Chester to the 1.8-mile test track in Rockhill Furnace: “Pop-Up Metro turn-key operations would provide everything from the trains and ADA accessible platforms, while training staff, supporting and developing an operating plan, supporting the obtaining of public financing and operational and technical support.” His report was comprehensive, including a relatively detailed description of the Pop-Up Metro system, and reactions from West Chester officials who had made the trip from their town to inspect and ride Henry Posner III’s demonstration train. Rettew quoted State Representative Chris Pielli as saying: “Since that time our population has grown 70%, traffic congestion has greatly increased, and our environment has been adversely impacted. … Today I witnessed an innovative, cost effective and environmentally sound solution” and “They have thought out of the box and reimagined what sustainable and affordable rail service can be for our community. I am hoping that their efforts will gain support from SEPTA and other local stakeholders.” According to Rettew, Pielli was “truly impressed with both Pop-Up Metro’s Electric Battery driven Light Rail demonstration, and the hard work and dedication of the of the Committee to Reestablish Rail Service to West Chester.” Quotes from other officials in Rettew’s report were similarly positive.
Hickey commented as Vice-Chair of the Borough of West Chester’s committee to restore the service. Rettew quoted him as saying: “driving was a smooth experience and the controls were very responsive, particularly the braking. … When I want to slow it down, it slowed down with no hesitation.”
Demonstration Proposal
A description of Pop-Up Metro and the proposed West Chester service can be found on the web site of the Railroad Development Corp. (RDC), which created the Pop-Up Metro concept and “railroad kit” (download below) that would allow service to start. The document includes a two-page overview of the system and a third page that presents the details of the proposed West Chester project, including a map which shows the portion of the line that the new shuttle trains would use.
The service would run on 9.2 miles of the line, from the SEPTA station at Wawa to downtown West Chester. It would be operated as a shuttle service, stopping at Glen Mills, Cheyney University, Westtown and the West Chester University campus on the way to downtown West Chester.
The “Quick Facts” section of the overview indicates a three-year demonstration with optional lease renewals if the operation is sufficiently successful that the parties wish to continue the service. The document says that the population of the communities surrounding the rail corridor has increased 70% since the previous service was discontinued in 1986, as Pielli said, and that “Pop-Up Metro has submitted a request for jurisdictional determination, the first step in securing FRA approvals.”
There is a freight operation on the line at night, and the West Chester Railroad, a tourist railroad that runs on weekends. So the proposed shuttle between Wawa and West Chester would run only on weekdays, and not late at night. The proposal calls for service every 30 minutes, with some gaps during the service day. A stringline chart of the proposed operation indicated that it appeared to be feasible. The proposed running time between Wawa and West Chester was 12 minutes, so it appeared possible, albeit tight, to run service with a single train set out and running. Another part of the proposal was that shuttle trains would connect with SEPTA trains to and from Philadelphia at Wawa, which would complicate scheduling and probably require that more than one train set be out while service is running.
The next steps would be to secure SEPTA’s cooperation and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SEPTA and the Borough of West Chester. It would be necessary to work with SEPTA, not only because of the connectivity issue, but also because Pop-Up Metro wants to use the existing platform at Wawa for an easy transfer. The cars that are currently used for demonstration purposes are not main line railcars, but transit cars from London, so they do not meet the FRA’s crashworthiness standards for operation on railroads when heavier equipment is running. The proposal includes building a barrier on the track, so Shuttle trains and SEPTA trains will always be separated on the Wawa platform, although passengers would be able to walk along the platform between the two trains to make the connection.
Will SEPTA Cooperate?
In his story, Rettew reported that SEPTA Public Information Officer John Golder said: “Restoring rail to West Chester would require a detailed operational plan, improvements to infrastructure, and Federal Rail Administration (FRA) approval … Safety is SEPTA’s top priority, and the Pop-Up Metro trains do not meet FRA standards for rail vehicles” and “SEPTA will continue to talk to West Chester Borough and the Rail Service Restoration Committee about the feasibility of operating these trains on track that is shared with FRA-compliant rail cars.” SEPTA did not mention direct talks with Pop-Up Metro or its parent RDC, who, as the shuttle operator, might be a necessary party if trains are to run.
Money seems to be the sticking point. Regarding SEPTA, Rettew reported: “SEPTA officials said the money wasn’t there, when asked a couple of years ago at a borough meeting by the members of the nine-year old Committee to Reestablish Rail Service to West Chester. Those plans called for a more-conventional rail service, with a start-up cost of approximately $500 million.” Regarding what it would cost to have Pop-Up Metro run the demonstration project, he reported: “Under a short-term lease, Pop-Up Metro would lease its ‘Pop-Up Metro Kit,’ for about $2.5 million annually, with the possibility of an outright sale two to three years later. The two-to-three-year period would allow for a realistic opportunity to record data and validate support for a permanent return to rail service, according to a Pop-Up letter to SEPTA.” That would amount to $7.5 million for a three-year lease, compared to $500 million for SEPTA to operate the project its way. Even if the cost of having Pop-Up Metro run the demo were to rise to $10 million for three years, SEPTA would charge 50 times as much.
On May 7, 2024, Cara Corridoni reported on the situation at the time for the community news site Hello, West Chester. Her story bore the headline West Chester Gets $6 Million for a New Commuter Train and a Sliver of Hope: “This year marks the tenth anniversary of the West Chester Rail Service Restoration Committee. The group has made significant progress in their Herculean task to return a functioning commuter rail service to West Chester. However, while some things have advanced, some have not.” She reported that two years earlier, she had written: “Promising and popular stuff that always seems to get snagged in the same spots—the estimated $380 million price tag to restore the service and a SEPTA’s seeming lack of interest in making such an investment.” She then said, “Today, significant progress has been made on the former, while the latter remains a frustrating drag on the process.”
Corridoni then reported that that the plan could bring 190 passengers from West Chester to Center City in 64 minutes with the SEPTA connection “at a fraction of the original cost.” Startup capital was estimated at the $20 to $30 million range. She also reported that Pop-Up Metro was willing to donate the train and two years of operating costs to get the service going, a $6 million value, which also could be used as the “grantee match” when applying for a State or Federal grant. She quoted Jordan Norley, a former West Chester mayor who is still actively promoting the project as saying: “The gift is to prove the concept of battery-operated trains in the United States.”
Carridoni reported: “From a contribution standpoint, the group is looking for access to the portion of the track currently being used by the West Chester Railroad, as well as the SEPTA track connecting into the WAWA station, and the land surrounding the tracks to build a modular platform, pedestrian bridge, and other features. The bigger ask seems to be goodwill” from SEPTA. She also reported that SEPTA appeared to show little interest in the project and quoted a message from SEPTA that said: “At this time, the Pop-up Metro concept does not align with SEPTA’s priorities, and SEPTA does not have the time or resources to dedicate to this proposal from Pop-Up Metro, LLC.”
She concluded her report by saying: “SEPTA is of course not the only obstacle. There’s also the start-up capital, ongoing questions about post-pandemic ridership levels, Federal Railroad Administration approvals, and of course, the fact the track is already occupied by the West Chester Railroad. All of which the committee believes they can overcome if they are just given the chance.” From here, she reported that West Chester has (or had, as of last May), “1. Set up a nonprofit entity that can hold assets, apply for funding, and advocate on behalf of the Borough. 2. Quantify resident support. The group is exploring adding a ballot question for November. 3. Develop a funding strategy. If SEPTA doesn’t have the resources, who might?”
Undaunted, supporters of the proposed service are still pushing and for it and have started a new website. The home page features a picture of a two-car consist like Posner’s demo train, except in the livery of the old Pennsylvania Railroad in Tuscan red with gold stripes: “West Chester Metro is an advocacy group dedicated to restoring rail transit to West Chester, Pa. We believe that a modern and efficient public transportation system is essential for the growth and prosperity of our community … As Philadelphia’s only collar county without a rail line to the city, the West Chester Metro Initiative is working to bring a less costly and more achievable approach to regional rail that connects West Chester to SEPTA through innovative ‘green’ technologies.” Much of the useful data is summarized on the “West Chester Metro Initiative” page of the website, including a map, a ridership profile, a comparison between the Pop-Up Metro plan and a plan from PennDOT (the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) and more. It also includes a description of the Pop-Up Metro concept, calling it “A Railroad in a Box!”
Tom Hickey ascribed much of SEPTA’s stubbornness to a lack of communication between the agency’s modal components. He likened the agency to “five companies with a common logo” and told Railway Age: “The Regional Rail people couldn’t see it, but we have been proposing a concept that was more like the Media and Sharon Hill lines from 69th Street, or NJ Transit’s River Line in South Jersey, than a conventional train. We were promoting rail transit on [regional rail] tracks, but it would be completely separate from the trains that SEPTA runs.” He added that he was not convinced that SEPTA saw the difference. He also said that, with a new head at SEPTA, Pop-Up Metro’s supporters will keep on trying.
Is SEPTA Really Needed?
There seems to be little doubt that the Pop-Up Metro system could be very helpful in delivering new rail starts to serve communities that have not had trains for decades or have never had passenger service. It seems that the core benefit of the concept and the system is that it could be installed and operated inexpensively, and can deliver actual ridership numbers, which no “study” can do, no matter how much it costs. Studies are expensive, and no passenger has ever been able to “ride a study.”
In this case, that might be the rub. SEPTA is talking about $500 million to upgrade the line to West Chester and start running, even though the tourist railroad manages to run on the track the way it is. Another number that has been reported for SEPTA’s price is slightly less than $400 million, but that is still high in comparison with what it would cost to use Pop-Up Metro. Even with $20 or $30 million in capital costs and $2.5 million or even $3 million per year to operate the service, the SEPTA cost would exceed the Pop-Up Metro cost by at least an order of magnitude, if not more. Could SEPTA end up standing its ground to fight a battle against an inexpensive entrepreneurial alternative for the benefit of the “Transportation Industrial Complex” as former NY MTA Chair Pat Foye called it?
That remains to be seen, but new starts in the future (and the future starts now) might depend on states and localities being willing to come up with the money to run the trains, and to make their own deals with host railroads. They might not be able to depend on federal grants the way they could in previous Administrations. So, it might be the inexpensive entrepreneurial alternative or no trains at all.
Until now, we did not mention Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from the Philadelphia suburbs who is doing what he can to help transit. Can Posner and the West Chester folks campaign effectively in Harrisburg for help, despite SEPTA being the “big railroad”? SEPTA has its own problems with the impending fiscal cliff, so it might not be in a position to force West Chester to pay it asking price to run trains or just keep using the #104 bus, which SEPTA also operates. Whatever happens, we’ll report it.
Pop-Up Metro also has proposals for trains in Princeton, N.J. and along the Philadelphia Waterfront. We’ll examine those proposals in the next article in this series.
