ExCon90 wrote:westernfalls wrote:phllax wrote:I have... questions:
...
2. If the airport line stations and bridge over I95 were done when the airport was redone in the 70's, why did it take so long for the line to go into service? ...
2. An editorial at that time blamed engineers and lawyers without proper supervision.
I missed this one until now, but a major cause of delay was that after prolonged negotiations with the PC and RDG, both went into bankruptcy, which required the trustees to review every existing agreement to evaluate whether the agreement was favorable to the railroad. Entering bankruptcy allowed the railroad to disaffirm any contract unfavorable to the railroad, and the trustees could be sued in their personal capacity by any shareholders who felt they had wrongly reaffirmed an unfavorable agreement. Imagine going over all the agreements in which PC participated, with an up-or-down decision having to be made on each one.
A circumspect synopsis was published by the Philadelphia Chapter NRHS in their May, 1985 newsletter,
Cinders:
SEPTA's "new way to fly," the Airport High Speed Line, took off smoothly on Sunday morning, April 28, after nearly 20 years on the runway...
The new line was first proposed in 1965, approved in 1970 and ballyhooed for an opening in 1976 to coincide with the Bicentennial celebration of that year. But political infighting, funding disputes, railroad bankruptcies and Northeast Corridor rehabilitation work delayed its completion until 1984, and helped balloon the cost to almost $90 million. The opening of the center city rail tunnel late last year caused a futher delay, because SEPTA officials did not want to risk starting the airport service until the tunnel had reached a "steady state" of operation.
As noted on the airport's web site, Terminals B, C, D, and E (with provision for the rail service) were completed in the Spring of 1977.