Commuter rail town hall slated for Monday

PHOENIXVILLE >> The Mayor’s Task Force to restore rail service to downtown Philadelphia via the Manayunk/Norristown line will hold a public town hall meeting on Monday.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and is open to the public but has limited space at Phoenixville’s Columbia Station.

That building, located at 4 Bridge St. in downtown Phoenixville, served as the community’s rail station for almost 150 years.

For those who cannot attend, a virtual town hall will also be available via the web. To RSVP to attend the presentation in person visit http:// www.steelcityrail.com/, a link for the virtual meeting will also be available on the same website as the event draws closer.

Phoenixville developer Manny DeMutis who has provided seed funding for the group to get an operational plan, said “the plan is now in its

third iteration. We secured input from Norfolk Southern and revised the plan and submitted to SEPTA. SEPTA provided guidance and commented on the plan.”

Subsequently, “we then revised a third time and are now taking the plan public for comment in a public informational setting to increase the number of potential users in the project. This is about as grassroots as you can get.” DeMutis said.

The town hall will touch on aspects of the program including the economic impact, the environmental benefits, cultural impact and operational issues. The in person and virtual town hall will allow for real time input of concerns, questions or comments which would be appropriate for improving the plan.

“These are new concepts that the group is bringing forward in a public administrative setting,” said Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler.

“Through the Transit Revitalization Investment District Act, we have adapted the funding mechanism to solve our problem, giving us, as a community, the ability to prioritize our transportation needs… we need a train,” he said in a press release.

The group has already made presentations to Phoenixville Borough Council, Schuylkill Township, Phoenixville School District and will present to the Chester County Commissioners on the April 24.