page_title: Norristown High Speed Line
hierarchical_section_title: Norristown High Speed Line
caption_attribution_description: SEPTA N-5 car #144 approaches Gulph Mills Station in Upper Merion, PA, bound for 69 Street.
context_page_description: The Norristown High Speed Line is a 13.4-mile interurban light rapid transit line operated by SEPTA, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Transportation Center in Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States. The rail line runs entirely on its own right-of-way, inherited from the original Philadelphia and Western Railroad line. In Fiscal Year 2013, the Norristown High Speed Line carried 2,419,500 passengers; this was down from the 2.764 million passengers carried in Fiscal Year 2012, partly due to a two-day service suspension due to Hurricane Sandy. In Fiscal Year 2015, the Norristown High Speed Line carried 3,429,300 passengers, an increase of 9% from FY 2014 when it carried 3,147,209 passengers.
  The Norristown High Speed Line is unique in its combination of transportation technologies.
context_section_description: The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL, also called the Purple Line, the P&W, or the Route 100) is a 13.4-mile (21.6 km) interurban light rapid transit line operated by SEPTA, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Transportation Center in Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States. The rail line runs entirely on its own right-of-way, inherited from the original Philadelphia and Western Railroad line (still referred to by locals as the "old P&W" or as Route 100). In Fiscal Year 2013, the Norristown High Speed Line carried 2,419,500 passengers; this was down from the 2.764 million passengers carried in Fiscal Year 2012, partly due to a two-day service suspension due to Hurricane Sandy. In Fiscal Year 2015, the Norristown High Speed Line carried 3,429,300 passengers, an increase of 9% from FY 2014 when it carried 3,147,209 passengers.
  The Norristown High Speed Line is unique in its combination of transportation technologies. Originally chartered as a Class I (steam) railroad, the line is fully grade separated, collects power from a third rail, and has high-level platforms common to rapid transit systems or commuter rail systems such as New York City's Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, but has onboard fare collection, mostly single-car operation, and frequent stops more common to light rail systems.  Previously, the Norristown High Speed Line was considered to be a heavy rail line, according to a 2008 SEPTA budget report; however, the line is currently considered an interurban heavy rail line, according to a 2009 SEPTA business plan, and subsequent capital budgets. It has also been categorized by the American Public Transportation Association as "Intermodal High Speed rapid rail transit".
  The purple color-coded line was formerly known simply as Route 100, but was officially changed to its current name in September 2009 as part of a customer service initiative by SEPTA. The line has been subject to multiple accidents in recent years. In August of 2017, there was a crash involving an unoccupied railcar at 69th Street Terminal that injured more than 40 people. As a result, the maximum operating speed on the line was decreased to 55 mph.
caption: SEPTA N-5 train #144 of the Norristown High Speed Line as it enters the Gulph Mills station in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania.
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