Not to beat a dead horse, but the 5:05pm 104 West Chester Express continues to be a source of frustration for West Chester Pike corridor commuters. Today, the 5:05pm didn't even bother showing up. This resulted in a heavier than usual load on the 5:35pm West Chester Express. SEPTA needs to add PM peak express service from West Chester to 69 Street. I can't think of any other line in the system where express service operates in one direction during only one peak period while service in the other direction operates both ways. SEPTA promised improvements to the 104 - especially for West Chester commuters, but, as is SEPTA tradition, Chester County commuters are lied to yet again.

The Norristown Times Herald reports that SEPTA staff is "thisclose" (tm Stu Bykofsky) to determining a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the boondoggle that is known as "Cross County Metro." SEPTA is recommending the same "MetroRail" farce being proposed for the Schuylkill Valley corridor. The $900 million project is proposed to link Trenton with Thorndale, making the following stops: Trenton, Morrisville, Falls Twp, Oxford Valley, Woodbourne, Langhorne, Feasterville, Willow Grove, Dresher, Fort Washington, Cold Point, Norristown Transportation Center, Hughes Park, Port Kennedy, King of Prussia, S Gulph Rd, Great Valley, Glenloch, Exton, Downingtown, and Thorndale. The complete Cross County line would be operational in about 10 years. Knowing SEPTA's history, my newborn daughter will probably be in her freshman year at West Chester Henderson High School before either Schuylkill Valley or Cross County are fully operational.

For those scoring at home (and if you're scoring the cost of SEPTA projects like I do, you need to get out more {paraphrased and stolen from ESPN's Dave Revsine}), that's $2.7 BILLION for two brand new rail projects. Meanwhile, proposed restoration of SEPTA rail service to Wawa, West Chester, Quakertown, and Newtown (Bucks) are in an indefinite holding pattern. And that's not factoring in replacement of the trackless trolley fleet or the hopeful restoration of streetcar service on the 23 or 56, not to mention a planned branch of the P&W to Port Kennedy via King of Prussia. But, when certain politicians decide to be brain-washed by a SEPTA staff that seems hell-bent on getting a lot of money from Washington and Harrisburg on on projects that only seem to benefit certain areas rather than the region at large, this is the end result.