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Introducing Wawa Station: New SEPTA stop will extend a Regional Rail line

Say goodbye to Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line and hello to the Media/Wawa Line

Riders board a Regional Rail train at the Media/Elwyn Station in 2018.
Riders board a Regional Rail train at the Media/Elwyn Station in 2018.Read more
    by Ximena Conde
    Updated 
    Published 

SEPTA’s new stop extending the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line has a Sizzli name thanks to a 10-year, $5.4 million naming-rights agreement, transit officials announced Wednesday.

The Wawa Station at 1490 W. Baltimore Pike in Middletown Township, which opens for service next month, is the fifth naming-rights agreement for SEPTA. The Regional Rail line will also be renamed Media/Wawa to reflect the new end point. According to SEPTA, the agreement is a way for the agency to generate revenue as it tries to bounce back from a plunge in ridership due to the pandemic.

Construction to restore 3.5 miles of rail west of Elwyn into part of Chester Heights and Middletown Township began in 2018. The project cost about $197 million, per SEPTA.

Officials in Chester Heights and Middletown Township welcomed the return of SEPTA services, which stopped in 1986 due to low ridership.

“The restoration of SEPTA service from Elwyn to the new Wawa Station will give Middletown Township a second train station for our vibrant Township and provides an additional access to transportation for residents who live in, the business community who works in, and those who visit Middletown Township,” said Middletown Township Council chair Mark Kirchgasser.

» READ MORE: More Philly workers could soon commute on SEPTA for free

According to Wawa president and CEO Chris Gheysens, the partnership made sense because of the station’s proximity to the company’s headquarters and the Wawa Dairy, which has bottled and distributed milk for more than a century.

In a statement, Gheysens said the rail line “has meant a lot to Wawa” and the founding family throughout the years. When Wawa Dairy was founded in 1903, the rails made it easy to get the milk supply into Philadelphia.

Wawa Station is slated to open Aug. 21 with connections to bus routes 111 and 114, as well as access to 600 parking spaces. It will be ADA accessible.

SEPTA estimates ridership at Wawa Station to run about 950 passengers on a weekday. A schedule will be announced in early August.

SEPTA’s other naming-rights agreements have been for NRG Station (formerly AT&T station), Jefferson Station, and Penn Medicine Station.