PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — How will SEPTA repurpose the money earmarked for the now-shelved King of Prussia rail line? The answers are in SEPTA’s capital budget proposal for next year.
After canceling the King of Prussia rail project, SEPTA found itself with an additional $340 million to spend. Much of the money will be used to replace some of the agency’s 50-year-old regional rail cars and to acquire new vehicles for SEPTA’s eight trolley lines.
“That is our trolley modernization project, and you'll see an extra $100 million being invested there,” SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie Richards told KYW Newsradio. "We're looking at another $200 million being invested in our regional rail vehicles, which need to be replaced.”
SEPTA 2024 Budget Proposal
Some of the rest of the money, Richards said, will be used to plan for adding a freight-only track alongside the Airport Line to eliminate bottlenecks where passenger and freight trains now share track.
“We definitely see tourism and people visiting the area. We want to encourage that, and obviously for businesses very important, so we're looking at that airport service, which we are highlighting in this capital budget,” she said.
Public hearings on the fiscal year 2024 capital budget are scheduled for May 10, with in-person testimony resuming for the first time since the pandemic.
The SEPTA board votes on the $976 million capital plan at its June meeting.
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