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Cynwyd Line
The Cynwyd Line at Wynnefield Avenue in July 2005
Overview
StatusOperating
OwnerSEPTA
Termini
Stations3
Websitesepta.org
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemSEPTA Regional Rail
Services1
Operator(s)SEPTA Regional Rail
Rolling stockElectric Multiple Units
Daily ridership112 (FY 2023)[1]
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 12 kV 25 Hz AC
Route map
Map
Legend
11.1 mi
17.9 km
former service text
11.1 mi
17.9 km
NOR
to Norristown–Elm Street
Ivy Ridge
Manayunk West
closed
NOR
to 30th Street
Manayunk Bridge
Barmouth
closed
6.1 mi
9.8 km
 Cynwyd
5.7 mi
9.2 km
 Bala
Zone
 2 
1
4.9 mi
7.9 km
 Wynnefield Avenue
Keystone Corridor (Main Line)
to Harrisburg
52nd Street
closed
Zone
 1 
C
0.9 mi
1.4 km
 30th Street
Atlantic City Line Amtrak
0 mi
0 km
 Suburban
SEPTA Regional Rail
This diagram:
Train at Cynwyd station

The Cynwyd Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line from Center City Philadelphia to Cynwyd in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Ivy Ridge Line, service was truncated on May 17, 1986,[2] at its current terminus at Cynwyd.

Track between Cynwyd and Ivy Ridge was dismantled between 2008 and 2010 for conversion as an interim rail trail, preventing service restoration for the foreseeable future. The Cynwyd Line is the shortest of the SEPTA regional rail lines, and is the second-shortest regional rail line in the United States after New Jersey Transit's Princeton Branch[citation needed]. It is by far the least ridden SEPTA Regional Rail Line. It is fully grade-separated.

Route

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The Cynwyd Line runs from Suburban Station to the 52nd Street Junction, where it diverges from Amtrak's Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg line. It makes station stops at Wynnefield Avenue, Bala, and Cynwyd before stopping just short of the Schuylkill River.

History

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The Cynwyd Line is the truncated remnant of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill Branch, which ran from Philadelphia to Pottsville, Pennsylvania.[3] Electrified service was opened between Philadelphia and Norristown (Haws Avenue) on June 20, 1930. Plans for electrification beyond Norristown, to Phoenixville, were not carried out. Passenger service ended between Manayunk and Norristown on October 29, 1960 and the line beyond Manayunk was de-electrified, although the pylons remain.[citation needed]

In 1980 SEPTA extended service from Manayunk to a new park-and-ride station at Ivy Ridge.[citation needed][4]

Service beyond Cynwyd was suspended on May 27, 1986, because of poor track conditions[5] and concerns about the Manayunk Bridge over the Schuylkill River.[citation needed][6]

Between 1984–2010, the route was designated R6 Ivy Ridge (later R6 Cynwyd) as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Ivy Ridge Line trains operated through the city center to the Manayunk/Norristown Line on the ex-Reading side of the system.[7] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.[8]

In the late 1990s and up to 2003, SEPTA funded a study called the Schuylkill Valley Metro which included plans to extend both sides of the R6 line to Pottstown, Reading and Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. The project suffered a major setback when it was rejected by the FTA New Starts program, which cited doubts about the ridership projections and financing assumptions used by the study.[9]

Though there have been repeated calls to restore the "temporarily" discontinued service between Cynwyd and Ivy Ridge, SEPTA permanently dropped plans for restoration in 2008 when all trackage north of Cynwyd to Ivy Ridge was removed between 2008 and June 2010 to make way for the Cynwyd Heritage Trail[10] and Ivy Ridge Trail.[11]

On October 29, 2010, the Cynwyd Line was where the Silverliner V rail cars made their first run in revenue service,[12] and, on June 29, 2012, where the final Silverliner IIs and IIIs ran in revenue service before being fully retired.[citation needed][13]

SEPTA activated positive train control on the Cynwyd Line on November 21, 2016.[14]

On April 9, 2020, the line was suspended indefinitely due to a staff shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] Limited service resumed on September 7, 2021.[16]

Following the Interstate 95 bridge collapse on June 11, 2023, SEPTA used vehicles and human resources from Cynwyd Line to operate additional services on Trenton Line, West Trenton Line, and Fox Chase Line starting June 12. Rail services on Cynwyd Line were replaced by buses running to Overbrook station and connecting to Paoli/Thorndale Line trains.[17][18] Train service on the Cynwyd Line resumed on June 26, 2023.[19]

Stations

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Cynwyd has been the terminus of the line since 1986.

The Cynwyd Line includes the following stations north of 30th Street Station; stations indicated with gray background are closed.[20]

Zone Location Station Miles (km)
from
Center City 		Connections / notes
C Parkside, Philadelphia 52nd Street 4.0 (6.4) Closed August 23, 1980[5]
1 Wynnefield, Philadelphia Wynnefield Avenue Disabled access 4.9 (7.9) Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 40
2 Bala Cynwyd Bala Disabled access 5.7 (9.2) Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 1, 44, 52, 65
Cynwyd Disabled access 6.1 (9.8) Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 44, 52
Bike transport Cynwyd Heritage Trail
Barmouth 6.8 (10.9) Closed May 27, 1986[5]
Manayunk, Philadelphia Manayunk West 7.8 (12.6) Closed May 27, 1986[5]
Roxborough, Philadelphia Ivy Ridge 8.5 (13.7) Closed May 27, 1986[5]

Ridership

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Between FY 2013–FY 2019, yearly ridership on the Cynwyd Line ranged from 120,000 to 180,000, peaking at 184,138 in FY 2014. Ridership collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.[note 1]

50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
FY 2019
FY 2020
FY 2021
FY 2022
FY 2023

Notes

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  1. ^ Data for individual lines is not available for FY 2020. Service did not resume until FY 2022.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b SEPTA Data Group. "Route Operating Statistics". Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "Ivy Ridge line closed, May 18, 1986 - Newspapers.com". Archived from the original on July 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "Eastern Region, Philadelphia Terminal Division, Schuylkill Branch Map Showing Switching Districts As Shown On General Notice No. 503 2-14-1950" (PDF). 1950. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  4. ^ Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. pp. 84–86. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1.
  5. ^ a b c d e Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE SUCCESSORS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY AND THEIR HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1980-1989" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Starting the Second Life of a Manayunk Icon". July 16, 2014.
  7. ^ Vuchic, Vukan; Kikuchi, Shinya (1984). General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System. Philadelphia: SEPTA. pp. 2–8.
  8. ^ Lustig, David (November 2010). "SEPTA makeover". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing: 26.
  9. ^ "fta.dot.gov". Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  10. ^ cynwydtrail.org/
  11. ^ "Ivy Ridge Green". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  12. ^ Geringer, Dan (October 30, 2010). "Mass appeal for SEPTA's new Silverliner V train". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  13. ^ "SEPTA to scrap the last 'Silverliner II'". June 29, 2012.
  14. ^ "Positive Train Control Update". SEPTA. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  15. ^ "Service Information". SEPTA. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "Regional Rail Select Schedule Changes". SEPTA. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  17. ^ "I-95 Philadelphia collapse: SEPTA adds, modifies lines and service to ease commuting troubles". Fox 29 Philadelphia. June 11, 2023.
  18. ^ "Until Further Notice: SEPTA Is Adding Extra Capacity And Service Due To I-95 Bridge Collapse". SEPTA. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "Beginning Monday, June 26: SEPTA Is Adjusting Capacity And Service Due To I-95 Reopening". SEPTA. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  20. ^ "Cynwyd Line schedule" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. January 7, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
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