Project Leo, or KOP Rail Should just be a Bus
SEPTA Service Gap 1
SEPTA has been in flux lately as its very livelihood has been put on the line by Senate Republicans. As they want to Reimagine Regional Rail, Revolutionize the bus network, and update their rolling stock. For the time being, I want to do some blue with the busses and see some potential routes that could exist some day.
The Bus Revolution primary goals to start have been redesignating all bus routes with numbers and all rapid transit with letters-which occurred to all but the K in February. The K is an example of a route that will be dropped by removing some duplication and creating more frequent routes.
SEPTA will readjust others by extending, truncating, or deleting seldom used branches. Others are simply merged in some capacity such with 106 folded into being a 60 Max section of the 105.
However, one gap that is obvious in the maps is in the lack of North-South service from the Main Line to King of Prussia. That’s what I want to talk about today.
History (and Near-Term)
As of today, there are only 2 services that connect Paoli/Thorndale line passengers from suburb to suburb.
The first is the Norristown High Speed Line, or the Metro M line as SEPTA has decided to rebrand it (Route 100 also works), which runs between 69th St and Norristown TC. The 105 (and for now, the 106) closely parallels this service between Ardmore/Haverford and Radnor (where the 106 deviates to serve before continuing to Paoli Hospital-where I was born).
Over the past 20 years, there have been proposals to add a branch of the High Speed Line to King of Prussia, but cost and denial of federal funding has killed this for now. All the NIMBYism skyrocketed the cost for the lack of people they were expecting to use. Many have instead advocated to use this money on an even longer awaited project, the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway in North East Philadelphia. For now, customers can transfer at Norristown or Bridgeport to reach the King of Prussia.
The New Service
My solution for KOP Rail I see that is vastly cheaper and could make high dividends would be a bus connecting Villanova and Eastern University to the High Speed Line, Regional Rail, and King of Prussia.
Service would start at Villanova (M) fore running concurrent with the 105 (106) before turning on to Spring Mill to connect to the regional rail station. It would serve the new Stoneleigh garden and County Line Road station, also home to the Inn at Villanova.
It then deviates along Gulf Creek road to connect to Eastern University and the former Cabrini University Campus (now apart of Villanova). Fenimore Park would be upgraded into a bus transfer point between an Eastern University circulator (connecting the old campus to the new West Campus, as well as what I’m calling the “Leo Connection”, which would basically be an express version of the bus so far to Fenimore before serving the Mansion and Founder’s Hall on the ex-Cabrini campus).
After serving Valley Forge Military Academy (and the St. David’s Golf Club) and the entrance to the ground of Scout Troop Paoli 1, we switch to Croton to serve Martin’s Dam, the Memorial Gardens and Home Depot before stopping at the King of Prussia “intercity bus terminal”-which is nothing special other than its right by the DMV, but would presumably be the King of Prussia Cross County station before terminating at the Plaza Transit Hub.
The idea is that it would be timed to the High Speed Line as if were transferring to a different branch. It also takes pressure off the universities to support this if they just give the students a Key Card (SEPTA is contactless now, so perhaps not event that-just promote the service). It also connects people to parks: the more formal gardens of Stoneleigh, the many trails at McKraig, and the exposed Memorial Gardens (and Martin’s Dam and the golf club could be useful for employees).
One of the biggest barriers to adding more main line service, clearance issues with train bridges, is not an issue at all and I’m sure SEPTA’s existing busses can make it under I-76 around the Memorial Gardens as the High Speed Line clears it around Gulf Mills. In which case, they could instead meet up with the 142/142 and serve the mall that way.
Speaking of the 142/124, I’d like to give them and the 99 another friend, but I’ll save that for another day.