Photo via Connect KOP

Photo via Connect KOP

A. Merritt Taylor may have predicted and urged a lot of rapid transit buildouts but he never considered “Edge Cities.”

Yesterday, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia presented Connecting with the King, a plan to connect rail transit to King of Prussia. The event took place at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel in King of Prussia. The proposed rail extension would add a four-mile extension to the Norristown High Speed Line (built as the Philadelphia and Western Railroad) to King of Prussia.

norristown-hslThe numbers tossed about were compelling (as reported by Philadelphia magazine):

  • Construction would cost $1.2 billion, $300 million per mile.
  • Economic development would be $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion.
  • Real estate value would increase $540 to $946 million over 20 years.
  • Ridership on the Norristown High Speed Line could increase 81%.
  • The extension would cut transit time from Center City Philadelphia to King of Prussia by 30 minutes.
  • The connection from the Norristown High Speed Line to King of Prussia remains 10 years off.

For more on the extension, check out:

King of Prussia Branch
ConnectKOP
@KOPRail