Future Improvements

This project will link the Cynwyd Heritage Trail to the Pencoyd Trail through the Norfolk Southern Tunnel. Lower Merion Township's Parks and Recreation Department is managing the project. The Township has obtained a lease to the Norfolk Southern property and construction on the tunnel is underway. A late 2026/early 2027 completion is tentatively projected.

The Township is exploring funding to build the connection from the Cynwyd Trail to down through the tunnel. Read more here.

The Friends are supporting the Township's extension of the trail from the Cynwyd Train Station to the Bala Train Station at City Avenue. Work nears completion, pending the availability of SEPTA flaggers. You can read more about the project here.

Once complete, this rail-with-trail extension will run alongside the active Cynwyd commuter line and will open direct Trail access for hundreds of nearby residents along Conshohocken State Road. 

During the City Avenue Bridge construction over the next couple years, the eastern Bala Station lot will serve as a staging area. Once that work wraps up, SEPTA and the Township plan to remove a small number of parking spaces so the Trail can continue through the lot and beneath the bridge. The City of Philadelphia has agreed to extend the trail on its side, bringing it closer to the Mann Center and linking it with Fairmount Park’s trail and bike lane network.

Though narrow, this new section will be a powerful connector in our region’s growing trail system. It is being funded largely by state transportation grants (90%), with the Township covering the remainder through recreation fees from new City Avenue developments.