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3/21/2023
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is putting on hold its King of Prussia rail project due to rising costs, inflation and high interest rates.
The project is not recommended for federal New Starts funding under the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grants program for fiscal-year 2024, SEPTA officials said in a press release. The agency will use resources allocated to the project to bolster essential infrastructure work, they added.
The FTA last week raised concerns about the authority's ability to fund its share of the project, including cost overruns, SEPTA officials said. The capital budget is constrained compared to peer transit agencies that have more state and local funding, they said.
SEPTA leaders don’t want to jeopardize other critical projects — such as the Market-Frankford Line fleet replacement, trolley modernization project or station accessibility improvements — in favor of an expansion project.
The King of Prussia project would extend the existing Norristown high-speed rail line 4 miles into King of Prussia, providing a "one-seat" ride from any station along the line and connecting Center City, University City and King of Prussia, the region's largest employment hubs. SEPTA also plans to replace the entire Market-Frankford Line fleet because of cracking steel, rust and corrosion appearing on the cars, which were built in 1990s.
"With the funding we have currently, SEPTA must prioritize essential infrastructure work and safety and security improvements to maximize the reliability and effectiveness of our aging system," said SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie Richards in a press release.
With each year of delay, the project cost estimate increases by $100 million. Between August 2020 and August 2022, the cost rose to $2.6 billion from $2.08 billion; today, it stands at $3 billion.
SEPTA is pausing all activities related to the project and will not execute a contract it approved last month for the final design. The agency will provide more details on where project dollars are going once its 2024 capital budget proposal and long-term program are made public next month, SEPTA officials said.