Manayunk/Norristown Line

The route originates from the Center City Rail tunnel, and the two-track line splits off from the "SEPTA Main Line" north of North Broad Station. It then goes through Philadelphia's East Falls and Manayunk neighborhoods and Conshohocken before reaching Norristown. At Norristown Transportation Center, commuters can transfer to regular SEPTA surface buses or the SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line to 69th Street Terminal. From Norristown Transportation Center, the electrified line follows the single track Stony Creek branch to terminate at Elm Street, while the double tracked main line continues to Reading. The Reading main west of Norristown currently carries no passenger service, and is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway as its Harrisburg Line.

As of 2019, most weekday Manayunk/Norristown Line trains terminate at 30th Street Station or continue to various destinations such as Elwyn on the Media/Elwyn Line and Marcus Hook or Wilmington on the Wilmington/Newark Line. Most weekend Manayunk/Norristown Line trains continue to Elwyn on the Media/Elwyn Line.[2]

The Manayunk/Norristown Line was the Reading Company's Norristown Branch from Philadelphia to Reading, Pennsylvania. Electrified service to Norristown and Chestnut Hill East began on February 5, 1933.[3] Steam (and later diesel)-operated intercity services continued to operate beyond Norristown. By the 1960s Budd Rail Diesel Cars handled most of the Reading's diesel services, although the Reading's EMD FP7 locomotives, displaced from the Crusader, saw regular use on the Philadelphia–Reading run.[4] SEPTA discontinued services beyond Norristown on July 26, 1981.[5]

Between 1984–2010 the route was designated R6 Norristown as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Manayunk/Norristown Line trains operated through the city center to the Ivy Ridge Line (later Cynwyd) on the ex-Pennsylvania side of the system.[6] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.[7]

Like the Cynwyd Line, the Manayunk/Norristown Line was slated to become part of the planned new Schuylkill Valley Metro, but was to serve the King of Prussia mall complex and the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Trenton Cut-Off line to Frazer, Pennsylvania. This was referred to by planners as the "Cross-County Segment." An extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line, called the Norristown Extension, to Wyomissing was later proposed, with funding to come through new tolls on U.S. Route 422.[8][9]

Early in 2013, SEPTA began to undertake major operational improvements and physical rehabilitation on the Manayunk/Norristown Line. Central to this project is the replacement of the 80-year-old wayside automatic block signal system with one that displays only in the operating cab, and operates in both directions on both tracks, thereby allowing greater operational flexibility. Two new remotely controlled interlockings are being constructed to facilitate bidirectional operation, one at Miquon, the other in Norristown between the main station and the Ford Street crossing. An electrified storage track is also being constructed at Miquon to allow for temporary turnback of trains at that station, as the line is periodically subjected to flooding from the Schuylkill River around Spring Mill and Conshohocken. Ongoing replacement of the line's overhead catenary, most of which is 80 years old, will continue along with the signal replacement. Also occurring in conjunction with these projects are the replacement of crossties, renewal of grade crossing surfaces, and trimming of brush and trees alongside the right-of-way.[10] The entire program is scheduled for completion in fall 2015, tying in with the FRA-mandated nationwide implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on American railroads by the end of 2015.[11]

SEPTA activated PTC on the Manayunk/Norristown Line on August 15, 2016.[12]

As of mid-2018, the borough of Phoenixville is studying the restoration of SEPTA train service by extending the Manayunk/Norristown Line using old Reading Line track past Norristown, currently used for freight trains by Norfolk Southern.[13] In 2018, a panel led by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance pushed for an extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line to Reading, with service terminating either at the Franklin Street Station in Reading or in Wyomissing. The proposed extension would utilize existing Norfolk Southern freight railroad tracks. Before service can be implemented, a study would need to take place.[14]

On April 9, 2020, service on the line was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[15] though Temple University and North Broad stations were still being served by other rail services. Service resumed on June 28, 2020.[16]

The Norristown Transportation Center is a major hub

Miquon station

The Manayunk/Norristown Line makes the following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with a gray background are closed.

Zone[17]	Location	Station	Miles (km) from Center City	Connections / notes
C	Callowhill, Philadelphia	Spring Garden Street		On the former line to Reading Terminal, closed November 6, 1984[18]
	Temple University	Temple University	2.1 (3.4)	SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines
1	Glenwood, Philadelphia	North Broad	2.9 (4.7)	SEPTA Regional Rail: Lansdale/Doylestown Line SEPTA City Transit:Broad Street Line SEPTA City Bus: 4, 16, 54
	Allegheny West, Philadelphia	Allegheny	4.0 (6.4)	SEPTA City Bus: 33, 60
	East Falls, Philadelphia	East Falls	5.5 (8.9)	SEPTA City Bus: K
2	Wissahickon, Philadelphia	Wissahickon Transportation Center	6.4 (10.3)	SEPTA City Bus: 9, 27, 61, 62, 65
	Manayunk, Philadelphia	Manayunk	7.6 (12.2)	SEPTA City Bus: 35, 61, 62
	Ivy Ridge	Roxborough, Philadelphia	8.4 (13.5)	SEPTA City Bus: 61, 62
	Shawmont		9.4 (15.1)	Closed November 10, 1996[19]
	Miquon	Miquon	10.7 (17.2)
3	Conshohocken	Spring Mill	12.3 (19.8)
		Conshohocken	13.5 (21.7)	SEPTA Suburban Bus: 95, 97
		Ivy Rock	15.3 (24.6)	Closed 1983
		Mogees	15.9 (25.6)	Discontinued on October 4, 1992[20]
	Norristown	Norristown Transportation Center	17.2 (27.7)	SEPTA Suburban Transit: Norristown High Speed Line SEPTA Suburban Bus: 90, 91, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 131
		Main Street	17.7 (28.5)	SEPTA Suburban Bus: 90, 91, 93, 131
		Marshall Street	17.9 (28.8)	Closed 1959[21]
		Norristown-Elm Street	18.1 (29.1)

Between FY 2008–FY 2018 yearly ridership on the Manayunk/Norristown Line has ranged between 2.9 million–3.1 million.[note 1]

• "SEPTA – Manayunk/Norristown line schedule" (PDF).