The findings of a study that analyzed climate-related risks and vulnerabilities on one of SEPTA's Regional Rail lines was announced Thursday.
The Federal Transit Administration analysis, conducted by ICF International, a global consulting firm, in partnership with SEPTA and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, examined past service disruptions, future climate scenarios, risks and options for the Manayunk/Norristown running from Center City to the Elm Street station in Norristown.
ICF and key staff at SEPTA determined the Manayunk/Norristown line would serve as the best case study to illustrate the impacts that climate change may have on a single line.
The study, funded by the FTA and U.S. Department of Transportation, projects that the Manayunk/Norristown line is SEPTA's most vulnerable to track washouts from heavy rain and delays from snowstorms. The line may also become increasingly vulnerable to heat-related problems such as sagging wires and equipment failures.
"The study made long-term climate-change information matter to SEPTA," said Anne Choate, senior vice president for ICF International. "We began with what they are currently experiencing, and our investigation into current vulnerabilities allowed for a dialogue across disciplines on how to shore up the entire enterprise to climate and extreme weather risks into the future. As a result, SEPTA is more prepared and its staff is more attuned to climate-related vulnerabilities in the system."
There have been 21 Schuylkill River floods in Norristown in recorded history, 13 of which (62 percent) have occurred since 2003, according to a presentation by Erik Johanson, manager of strategic business planning for SEPTA.
"It’s not just the fact that the line was built next to the Schuylkill River," Johanson said. "You can imagine back in the 19th century, they wouldn’t have built a line there if they thought it was going to flood two or three times a year."
The study considered a climate analysis predicting hotter, wetter and more extreme weather.
SEPTA received $87 million from the FTA to benefit its $115 million resiliency program, which includes shoreline stabilization on the Manayunk/Norristown line.
"This will allow us to keep washouts from happening along the river, where the line typically gets flooded and severely damages the track bed," Johanson said. "This will keep us from having those lengthy delays and allow us to get back to service quickly after a flood."
The analysis identifies strategies to minimize SEPTA's current and future vulnerabilities to climate change in terms of service delays, train annulments, and weather-related costs to the transit agency.
Some resilience strategies cited in Johanson's presentation include shoreline, embankment and slope stabilization; raised signal huts; diligent tree trimming and flood mitigation.
Pictured below is some of the damage caused by weather on the Manayunk/Norristown line as presented by SEPTA.
A scene from the tracks along the Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line. (Photo courtesy of SEPTA)