SEPTA has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to advance further engineering of the King of Prussia Rail (KOP Rail) extension of the Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL). Responses to the RFP are due in September 2018. The SEPTA Board will vote to award the contract following staff recommendations on the bids.

“The extension of the Norristown High Speed Line to King of Prussia will promote and strengthen regional growth by better linking Center City, University City and King of Prussia-the Greater Philadelphia region’s three largest employment centers,” said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel.

The RFP’s scope encompasses the detailed preliminary design work, including surveying and utility and geotechnical investigations. This will progress the engineering and architectural design from the conceptual Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), completing 15 percent of the total design. An option is also incorporated in the RFP to design engineering tasks and delivery contract documents, including technical specifications, drawings, schedule, cost estimates, survey stake-out and construction phasing documents to complete the 30 percent design. The selected engineering consultant will be involved in taking into consideration the public’s needs as the design is developed and finalized.

“KOP Rail will benefit residents, students, our customers and businesses in the region,” said SEPTA Director of Strategic Planning & Partnerships Elizabeth Smith. “The rail extension will increase regional mobility and give customers an alternative to congested highway travel while supporting multimodal transportation.”

Information and updates on KOP Rail is available online at www.kingofprussiarail.com and on Twitter at @KOPRail. For more information about SEPTA, visit www.septa.org.