It is nice to see Broad Street Line stations getting a facelift. I know all of us have expressed our wishes on actual extensions of our subway and elevated lines and most of us have accepted the fact that under current conditions (including economic) and future trends (continual population decline) these extensions will not be built. However I found something interesting in the Chicago transportation thread regarding planned extensions of their el lines.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...g-l-lines.html
The article closed by saying, "After approval by the CTA board, the process for all three rail-extension projects would move to carrying out environmental-impact studies required for the projects to qualify for
federal grants, and
a push in Congress by the Illinois delegation to win funding."
This made me think how different our situation is. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Chicago el lines extend out into the suburbs. Aside from 69th street, our subway/el system serves only the city. The majority of the Septa board is from
outside of the city. Also, while Chicago is counting on the state of Illinois fighting for them, it seems at times that Philadelphia is in competition with the rest of PA. While I would've loved to have read an article about the Septa board approving extension plans here, I realize there are just too many things working against that right now for it to happen. Congrats to Chicago though.