Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line

For the Norfolk Southern (formerly Reading Company) line, see Harrisburg Line.
Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line
Amtrak and SEPTA Regional Rail share operations over the Main Line grade between Philadelphia and Thorndale
Amtrak and SEPTA Regional Rail service share operations over the Main Line grade between Philadelphia and Thorndale.
Overview
StatusOperating
OwnerAmtrak
LocalePennsylvania
Termini
Connecting linesPittsburgh Line
Stations31
Service
TypeHigher-speed rail
Inter-city rail
Commuter rail
SystemAmtrak
Norfolk Southern Railway
ServicesKeystone Service, Pennsylvanian, Paoli/Thorndale Line
Operator(s)Amtrak, SEPTA
Technical
Line length102.9 mi (165.6 km)
Track length105.2 mi (169.3 km)
Number of tracks2-4
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 12 kV 25 Hz AC
Operating speed110 mph (180 km/h)
SignallingCab signalling
Route map

Legend
MP
SEPTA Main Line via Center City Connection
0.0
 Suburban Station
Schuylkill River
Northeast Corridor
1.0
 30th Street Station
Amtrak
1.9
Zoo Junction
Northeast Corridor
4.0
Cynwyd Line (Valley Junction)
4.1
 Overbrook Yard
5.4
 Overbrook
6.0
 Merion
6.8
 Narberth
7.4
 Wynnewood
8.5
 Ardmore
Keystone Service
9.1
 Haverford
10.1
 Bryn Mawr
10.9
 Rosemont
12.0
 Villanova
13.0
 Radnor
13.7
 St. Davids
14.5
 Wayne
15.4
 Strafford
16.4
 Devon
17.5
 Berwyn
18.6
 Daylesford
19.9
 Paoli
Amtrak
21.6
 Malvern
Dale Secondary
23.9
 Frazer Yard
25.5
Glen Junction
27.5
 Exton
Amtrak
28.3
 Whitford
32.4
 Downingtown
Keystone Service
35.5
 Thorndale
38.4
 Coatesville
Keystone Service
44.2
 Parkesburg
Keystone Service
57.0
Leaman Junction (Strasburg Rail Road)
67.0
Holland Junction (New Holland Industrial)
67.9
Conestoga Junction
68.0
 Lancaster
Amtrak
68.1
Cork Junction (Columbia Secondary)
70.0
Lititz Junction (Lititz Secondary)
80.1
 Mount Joy
Keystone Service
86.8
 Elizabethtown
Amtrak
94.5
Roy Junction (Royalton Branch)
94.7
 Middletown
Keystone Service
104.4
State Junction (Harrisburg Line)
104.6
 Harrisburg Transportation Center
Amtrak
Pittsburgh Line
This diagram:

The Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by Amtrak in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. This is the only electrified Amtrak line in the United States outside of the main line of the Northeast Corridor. The line runs from Philadelphia, where it meets the Northeast Corridor at Zoo Junction at milepost 1.9, west to Harrisburg (MP 104.6), where electrification ends. The Main Line is part of the longer Keystone Corridor, which continues west to Pittsburgh along the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line.[1] This section is sometimes referred to as "Keystone East"[2] and is part of Amtrak's Keystone Service.

Philadelphia's Broad Street Station was the original start of the line. It was replaced by Suburban Station, the headquarters for the Pennsylvania Railroad, in 1930. Current service patterns dictate that all passenger rail service on the line begins 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Suburban Station at 30th Street Station, Philadelphia's primary commercial rail station.

History

20th century

A signal bridge and former grade crossing in Leacock Township, east of Lancaster

The Main Line runs along the route of the former Pennsylvania Main Line and passes through the Philadelphia Main Line, the suburban region for which it is named. The Pennsylvania Railroad originally electrified this line in the 1930s, but it fell into disuse in the 1980s under Amtrak's traction power system.[3][4]

21st century

Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation restored electrical service in October 2006.[5] This allows speeds up to 110 miles per hour.[6]

The line received about $26 million from the 2009 Federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act that was used to eliminate the last three grade crossings, which is intended to advance the goal of the line reaching 125-mph operations, reduce overall trip times, and improve service reliability. The grade crossings were located in Lancaster County and the last was closed in 2014.[7][8][9][10]

In the 2000s, there was discussion of initiating commuter rail service from Lancaster to Harrisburg, known as the Capital Red Rose Corridor, but the proposal was subsequently abandoned.[11]

Amtrak's Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian operate over the entire line. SEPTA Regional Rail Paoli/Thorndale Line trains operate east of Thorndale, with the rights to continue revenue service west to Parkesburg and to run west to Cork Interlocking just east of Amtrak's Lancaster station to reverse direction.[1]

Freight trackage rights over the whole line are assigned to the Norfolk Southern Railway. The Canadian Pacific Railway also has rights over a small piece near Harrisburg, from the west end to Roy Interlocking in Royalton, to allow CP trains to get from the end of their Sunbury Line or Allentown to Perryville, Maryland.[1]

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides the subsidies for Amtrak for the Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian passenger routes that operate on this line.

Stations

See also: Keystone Service

All stations are located in Pennsylvania.

Milepost (km) Station Location Current station
opened 		Services Connections
P/T KS PA
0.0 mi (0 km) Suburban Station Philadelphia September 28, 1930 ● SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines
SEPTA Metro: Broad Street Line (at City Hall), Market–Frankford Line, Subway–Surface Trolleys (at 15th Street)
Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 2, 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48, 62; SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
1.0 mi (1.6 km) 30th Street Station 1933[12] ● ● ● Amtrak Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter
SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines
NJ Transit NJ Transit Rail: ■ Atlantic City Line
SEPTA Metro: Market–Frankford Line, Subway–Surface Trolleys
Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 9, 12, 21, 30, 31, 42, 44, 49, 62, LUCY; SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
5.4 mi (8.7 km) Overbrook 1860 ● Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 65, G
6.0 mi (9.7 km) Merion Lower Merion 1914 ●
6.8 mi (10.9 km) Narberth Narberth September 11, 1915[13] ● Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 44
7.4 mi (11.9 km) Wynnewood Wynnewood 1870[14] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 105
8.5 mi (13.7 km) Ardmore Ardmore 1870[14] ● ● Bus interchange SEPTA City Bus: 44; SEPTA Suburban Bus: 103, 105, 106
9.1 mi (14.6 km) Haverford Haverford 1880[14] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 105, 106
10.1 mi (16.3 km) Bryn Mawr Bryn Mawr 1869[14] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 105, 106
10.9 mi (17.5 km) Rosemont Rosemont 1871 ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 105, 106
12.0 mi (19.3 km) Villanova Radnor 1890[15] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
13.0 mi (20.9 km) Radnor 1872[16] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
13.7 mi (22.0 km) St. Davids 1890[15] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
14.5 mi (23.3 km) Wayne 1884 ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
15.4 mi (24.8 km) Strafford Tredyffrin 1876 ●
16.4 mi (26.4 km) Devon Easttown 1890[17] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
17.5 mi (28.2 km) Berwyn 1884[17] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
18.6 mi (29.9 km) Daylesford Tredyffrin ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 106
19.9 mi (32.0 km) Paoli Paoli 1893[18] ● ● ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 92, 106, 204, 206
21.6 mi (34.8 km) Malvern Malvern 1900 ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 92
27.5 mi (44.3 km) Exton Exton 1981 ● ● EB Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 135; WCU Shuttle
28.3 mi (45.5 km) Whitford 1880 ●
32.4 mi (52.1 km) Downingtown Downingtown ● ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 135
35.5 mi (57.1 km) Thorndale Thorndale November 22, 1999[19] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 135
38.4 mi (61.8 km) Coatesville Coatesville 1868[18] ● Bus interchange SEPTA Suburban Bus: 135; TMACC: Coatesville Link
44.2 mi (71.1 km) Parkesburg Parkesburg 1905[18] ● Bus interchange TMACC: Coatesville Link
68.0 mi (109.4 km) Lancaster Lancaster 1929[18] ● ● Bus interchange Red Rose Transit Authority: 3, 6, 10, 11, 19
80.1 mi (128.9 km) Mount Joy Mount Joy ● Bus interchange Red Rose Transit Authority: 18
86.8 mi (139.7 km) Elizabethtown Elizabethtown 1915 ● ● Bus interchange Red Rose Transit Authority: 18
94.7 mi (152.4 km) Middletown Middletown 1990[18] ● Bus interchange CAT: 7
104.6 mi (168.3 km) Harrisburg Transportation Center Harrisburg 1887[18] ● ● Bus interchange CAT, Lebanon Transit, rabbittransit
Bus interchange Fullington Trailways
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines

References

  1. ^ a b c Federal Railway Administration, "Appendix A: Ownership, Operating Rights and Agreements" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2006. (18.0 KiB)
  2. ^ "Frequently-Asked Questions". Plan the Keystone. PennDOT. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  3. ^ Michael, Froio (May 18, 2012). "The Pennsylvania Railroad's Harrisburg Terminal: A Historical Overview". Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Tom, Belden (January 18, 1998). "Orphan Rail Line Scorned No More Penndot And A Startup Company Have Both Made Proposals For Upgrading Amtrak's Keystone Route". Philly.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "Amtrak's Northeast Corridor: FY 2010" (PDF). Amtrak. May 2011. p. 5. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "Northeast Corridor State of Good Repair Spend Plan" (PDF). Amtrak. April 15, 2009. p. 7. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  7. ^ "NEC Projects - The Keystone Corridor". Amtrak. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  8. ^ "The Congressional Bicameral High - Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus" (PDF). Federal Briefing. WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff. August 14, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  9. ^ "America's foray into high speed rail should include NYC". March 5, 2010.
  10. ^ Harris, Bernard (July 20, 2014). "New PennDOT bridge could mean faster trains on tracks below" (PDF). Plan the Keystone. Lancaster Online. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 26, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  11. ^ "Southcentral PA's Multi-Modal Transportation Efforts". Modern Transit Partnership. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Teitelman, Edward & Longstreth, Richard W. (1981), Architecture in Philadelphia: A Guide, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, ISBN 0262700212: 186 
  13. ^ Tatnall, Frank (Fall 2015). "A Century of Catenary". Classic Trains. 16 (3): 26.
  14. ^ a b c d Existing Stations in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
  15. ^ a b Existing Railroad Stations in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Archived October 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Morgan's Corner P&C RR station, 1856 (Existing Railroad Stations in Delaware County, Pennsylvania)
  17. ^ a b Existing Railroad Stations in Chester County, Pennsylvania Archived 2008-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Building Great American Stations". Amtrak. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  19. ^ Schogol, Marc (November 21, 1999). "SEPTA extends the R5 line to Thorndale". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 31. Retrieved February 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "The Electrification of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Broad Street Terminal Philadelphia to Paoli." The Electric Journal. Vol. 12, No. 12 (December 1915). (Pittsburgh, PA: The Electric Journal.) pp. 536–541.