Lucius Kwok wrote:I think that the Stony Creek and Quakertown branches are not electrified, but they could put up catenary if they had the money.
Correct on both counts.
On the other hand, if SEPTA were to run diesels in revenue service,
Very big "IF"
they could run from Quakertown to Norristown in addition to Reading to Norristown, and use Norristown as a transfer point to existing R6 service.
Actually, the feasibility study envisioned operating all the way to Philadelphia, using one of three options: 1--straight diesel to 30th Street via restored Ivy Ridge-Cynwyd segment, 2--dual-mode diesel/AC (more technically challenging now: see previous threads), 3--dual-mode diesel/DC laying third rail on tracks 2 and 3 in the tunnel (which has its own challenges).
Have there been any studies done on service to Quakertown and the Stony Creek branch?
See above. The feasibility study was done by Parsons Brinkerhoff for the Bucks and Montgomery (*) Planning Commissions around 1999.
I think the R6 Cynwyd branch could be turned into a light-rail line for the 480 weekday passengers who use it. Part of the SVM plan included various alternatives for this 3-station stub line. It could run on tracks separate from Amtrak's, and there were some options for getting into Center City. I could only find the executive summary of the SVM MIS, so I can only speculate on the details for these options.
The MIS did include both a light rail alternative up to Cynwyd/Ivy Ridge and restoring it as part of the main line route to Reading. The routing around Zoo for a light rail system (requiring segregated tracks) is rather convoluted, and none of the Center City alternatives (#) for getting from the City Branch to Market St. were terribly good--each had drawbacks or fatal flaws, and Broad Street was the least bad choice.
*--As was said elsewhere, the attitude particularly in Bucks was that SEPTA was an obstacle to actually getting rail service to that part of the county, so they went ahead to do the study without SEPTA
#--When it became apparent (well, apparent to the consultants and SEPTA--it was apparent to DVARP long before that) that running the trains from Reading down the City Branch wasn't going to work, they even studied the idea of a tunnel under 18th Street for these trains.