More rail service Sunday for bike race

Phillip Lucas

Posted: June 01, 2012

SEPTA will enhance service along the Manayunk/Norristown line and offer shuttle buses to accommodate cycling fans during the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship on Sunday.

Trains will arrive and depart from the Manayunk station on Cresson and Carson streets every 30 minutes between 7:25 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., said Kristin Geiger, a SEPTA spokeswoman.

"The Wall," a grueling, uphill section of the course near the Manayunk station, is considered one of the best places to watch the competition.

After the first three trips to Philadelphia, train service will begin at the Norristown Transportation Center, Geiger said. Shuttle buses will run in Norristown between the Elm Street Station and the Norristown Transportation Center between 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Shuttles will run from the Norristown Transportation Center to the Elm Street station between 8:47 a.m. and 7:23 p.m., Geiger said.

The 28th annual race features 300 cyclists who will ride 10 laps on a circuit that includes the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Kelly Drive and Manayunk.

The competition draws about 300,000 spectators, according to the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corp. n