SEPTA’s Somerset El station reopens in Kensington

Chain link fencing around the Somerset Market-Frankford Line stop was unlocked, and the station reopened to riders about 5 a.m. Monday after SEPTA spent two weeks cleaning and repairing the station.

It had fresh coats of paint on its girders, reinforced stairs and passenger crossovers, and a cleaner look, as well as an increased transit police presence.

Somerset was closed March 21 for emergency repairs and to increase security amid rampant drug use inside the El station and complaints from SEPTA employees and customers that they did not feel safe.

The elevators in the station should reopen later in the week after workers apply urine-resistant epoxy flooring, the last step in the repairs, officials said. Urine had corroded the machinery of the lifts, and there were piles of discarded needles and other trash in the elevators’ shafts.

Kensington residents and the City Council members representing the neighborhood protested the sudden closing of the station, which is serving about 800 people a day as the regional transit system has seen a decline in ridership during the pandemic. SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards held a couple of Zoom meetings with community leaders and has said the elevators, which had figured to be the most difficult repairs, were not damaged as badly as thought.

SEPTA transit police will assign two officers to patrol Somerset during service hours, adding an extra police presence, spokesman Andrew Busch said. “We know we’re going to have to stay vigilant,” he said.,

The authority is also contracting for 60 security guards on the Market-Frankford Line, which has seen a number of homeless people and people in addiction sheltering in stations and riding trains all day.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, there are fewer shelter beds available.