Myrtone wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 2:04 am
If this line is ever converted, would it be done by closing the whole line for conversion or by dual gauging the whole line for a transition.
That's an "if" without a "then".
As MACTRAXX, I, et al have noted interrunning is a nonstarter because it's (a) hugely cost-prohibitive and (b) it would meld two incompatible operating models. The obstacle isn't just gauge differences - one line or the other would have to be rebuilt from the roadbed up. Clearances, platform lengths, operating characteristics, power delivery, signals, etc. etc. are all different. Then there's the issue of trying to coordinate one system designed to carry large numbers of commuters on multi-car trains in an urban environment with one designed for 1- and 2-car consists in the suburbs.
Dual gauge would be highly problematic. A major reason PA gauge was set at "standard + 6 inches" was to monkey-wrench dual gauging. A six-inch difference is too much to allow wide-tread wheels, but too narrow to make it easy to implement things like turnouts, etc. At least one system (Cincinnati) used bespoke rails with extra-wide flanges to permit dual, close-gauge operation but IIRC it had its share of problems.
Yes, the two-seat ride can be annoying but bluntly put, it's not really any worse than changing between the MFL and BSS at 15th St, or between lines in NYC, DC, TTC, etc. etc. My 2 bucks is that there are any number of local rail-transit projects with a higher return, e.g. the Roosevelt Blvd, Navy Yard, and K of P extensions. Each of those would create new transit options rather than redoing existing service.
If running the P&W into Philadelphia is a goal in and of itself, a better candidate would be to connect it with PATCO at University City. PATCO was in fact designed with compatibility in mind, and linking them was on the DVRPC's wish list for many years starting back in the 1970s. That said, it's still a wish. Nothing more.
Requiem for it's/its, your/you're, than/then, less/fewer. They were once such nice words with such different meanings...