SEPTA announces the delay in the start of the Wawa – Daily Local extension service

Step back, the train is approaching the station.

At a meeting of the Council on Monday in Middletown, SEPTA informed board members of the expected opening of a regional railway line from Alvin to Wawa.

Joseph Connelly, liaison with the SEPTA government, told the board that the planned opening of the line had been postponed from July 1 to August 21 to launch a new passenger train on the rebuilt line.

Connelly said that while construction is on track to complete the structural aspects of the $ 178 million project, including a new station and a 600-car parking design, they faced supply chain problems to supply part of the alarm system 3 miles from Alvin. to the new Vava station.

The line, which once went to West Chester, was taken out of Alvin in 1986. Work on phase 1 of the line maintenance project began in 2010, and the current phase 2 – in 2018.

The new station in Wawa includes toilets, a high-level central island platform and a pedestrian underpass with accessible ramps and stairs that connect to the 600-car parking tower. There will also be buses on other lines at the station.

Connelly noted that the garage will hopefully relieve some pressure on other stations along the line that attract parking at the end of the line.

The project included replacing the railroad bridge over U.S. Route 1, building a new traffic intersection and access road connecting Route 1 U.S. with Wawa Station, improving the crossing to Lenny Road, and replacing the railroad bridge across Lungren Road.

The project also includes a new railroad machine on Lenny.

There is also a plan to widen the Chester Creek bike path, which allows parking.

Connelly said trains will start running on the line in July when engineers are trained and alarms checked. Trains will run with technicians who will make sure the alarm system works properly.

The first scheduled service will take place on August 21, and the first day of the trip – August 22.

SEPTA is planning a public deployment with mailings to nearby roads that will include safety messages.

Connelly said they are also turning to local fire departments to prepare for emergency response.

The new garage will be free until the end of December, Connelly said.

Connelly said SEPTA is working to get riders back into the system after the pandemic. In March 2020, when COVID-19 happened in March 2020, the number of passengers in the regional railway services decreased by 98 percent compared to the previous month. Now the regional railway has returned to 44 percent of this high level, while transit lines make up 53 percent of passenger use.

Connelly noted that congestion on highways and roads is increasing, which, according to SEPTA, will help encourage riders to look at public transport.

“We have our job to get people back into the system,” Connelly said. “We hope such a project will help.”

As SEPTA increases, it serves more people, but they make fewer trips, Connelly said. He used the example of someone driving 3 days a week instead of 5 days a week.