As PBJ quotes, “All aboard the KOP Express!”

For those who are unfamiliar, KOP is a local acronym for King of Prussia, which is considered to be the largest mall in the US (when measured by total retail space). It’s a slippery slope, as Mall of America has more “stores.”

No matter which way you slice it, KOP is a big and awesome place.

Now, to address the article that inspired this post. There has been lots of talk as well as various plans presented (remember the Schuylkill Valley Metro) for a new rail line out to KOP … for years. For the most part, the plans were always too big and the cost was too extreme.

Enter, the “King of Prussia Line.”

Since SVM is basically dead, and the need for convenient rail out to KOP is more alive than ever, the simplest and most doable approach seems to be an extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line. Over the last 2 years, there were 30 different options being explored based on location, number of stops, cost, etc. Those 30 options were then whittled down to 16 different options, and today there are only 4 options being considered.

In other words, progress is being made.

With over 30,000 jobs (just within KOP Mall and its surrounding office parks alone), and 25M visitors each year, $500M to get something like this done kind of sounds like a small investment to make for such a large and significant improvement. Not only will it make 76 East/West (in between Manayunk/Roxborough and KOP) more bearable to drive, but it will create a more efficient business/residential/tourist environment for everyone in the Greater Philadelphia area.

As for real estate, you only have to look at the Main Line for an example of transit oriented suburbia. This large part of suburban Philadelphia has thrived since the 1830s, when rail was constructed in areas like Malvern, and it continues to do well today due to it’s storied history, generational families, top-notch schools, and convenient location.

Today, it’s suburban areas like Radnor, Ambler, and Conshohocken that continually do well from a market value perspective, and much of it has to do with their access to convenient SEPTA rail lines.