Highlights of the new Conshohocken SEPTA station include ADA accessible bathrooms, ramps, and shelters
The station is part of the agency’s plans to make its services more ADA accessible, with more upgrades coming to stations in the next decade.
SEPTA’s new Conshohocken station opened to the public on Monday, four years after construction began in 2019. The station, which is fully ADA accessible, is just a short walk west of the old station.
“Station accessibility is a core part of SEPTA’s capital program,” SEPTA CEO and general manager Leslie Richards said Thursday at a news conference. “With the opening of the new Conshohocken station, we are one step closer to reaching our goal of making SEPTA easier to use and more accessible for everyone.”
The Conshohocken station is one of the agency’s busiest Regional Rail stops, with around 500 weekday riders on average, according to SEPTA. The new station, which was built with stormwater management features, includes a station building, passenger shelters, elevated platforms, and accessible ramps.
The new station is part of the agency’s efforts to improve accessibility in transit for all. SEPTA’s fiscal year 2024 proposed capital budget includes nearly $1 billion to provide full ADA accessibility at 45 rail transit and Regional Rail stations over the next 12 years.
The new Conshohocken station is the agency’s 68th accessible Regional Rail station, Richardson said. In the next decade, as part of the capital program, 11 more Regional Rail stations will get accessibility improvements, she said.
On the side of the new station’s tracks closest to the Schuylkill, there is now a small building where passengers can wait for their train. The building has benches; two ADA-compliant, gender-neutral bathrooms; power outlets; a water fountain with a water bottle filling capacity; and a display screen showing upcoming train times.
Passenger shelters are also available on either side of the train line, each with a bench and lighting.
As passengers get off of their train and onto an elevated platform, they can make their way over to an accessible ramp on either side of the track that leads them to a ground-level train crossing accessible to pedestrians and cars. Previously, passengers looking to cross the tracks quickly would have had to run up a flight of stairs, across a bridge, and back down another set of stairs, recalled Conshohocken Mayor Yaniv Aronson.
When construction on the new station began, many of the buildings that now surrounded it were not there, State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.) said Thursday.
“This project is bigger than this stop,” Hughes said. “This project is a message to say keep these investments going. They matter. They make a difference.”
The new station project cost $15.9 million and was funded through SEPTA’s capital budget, which received funds from the state and county. SEPTA faces an annual $240 million deficit starting next year in its operating budget, but the agency cannot use the capital funds to cover operating expenses, which are funded separately.
Richards also announced Thursday that with the upcoming completion of the Schuylkill shoreline stabilization work, the agency will be able to restore the Conshohocken station’s weekday hourly off-peak service, which was temporarily stopped in the spring of 2022. In January, the agency will also increase service on the Manayunk-Norristown line from 80% of pre-pandemic levels to 87%, Richards said.
The opening of the new station comes as SEPTA is planning upgrades to the Cornwells Heights train station in Bucks County to make it safer and more accessible for passengers. The renovations, which will feature elevated platforms, a new pedestrian overpass, and elevators, are expected to cost $61 million and has received federal funding.