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'sPrinceton Branch[citation needed]. It is by far the least ridden SEPTA Regional Rail Line. It is fully grade-separated.
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]
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]
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]
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][25]
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
↑ Data for individual lines is not available for FY 2020. Service did not resume until FY 2022.[1]
↑ Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. pp.84–86. ISBN978-0-9621541-7-1.
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