If Conshohocken businesses were hoping to have a busy weekend during the Papal Visit at the end of September, they are out of luck as far as train loads of visitors using the Conshohocken and Spring Mill regional rail stations. Mayor Nutter and SEPTA announced the transportation plan for the weekend of September 26th and 27th and regional rail will be bypassing all stations between Norristown and Center City.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

SEPTA will operate normal service during the week of the World Meeting of Families on September 22-25, but it will drastically alter service for the two days of the pope’s visit: Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27.

Regional Rail trains, subways, and trolleys will run truncated routes, with stops at only 31 stations instead of the usual 282.

We confirmed with SEPTA that the 31 stations do not include Conshohocken and Spring Mill. There have to be a few thousand public and private parking spaces surrounding those two stations unused on the weekends. It also is very problematic for those that rely on regional rail to get to work.

This decision does not make a whole lot of sense.