To date, the only township along SEPTA's Fox Chase-Newtown line to not endorse the conversion of SEPTA's railroad to a bicycle trail is Northampton Township. Most residents along that stretch of SEPTA's commuter rail corridor are opposed to the trail. On January 22, 2020, Northampton Township's Board of Supervisors held a presentation on the trail project prior to the endorsement of a "study". During the meeting, many residents vocally objected to the concept on the grounds of cost, liability and privacy. Despite this, the township board seemed to indicate that the trail would move forward regardless of taxpayer sentiment. In 2019, Upper Southampton aprroved the conversion.
While SEPTA, DVRPC, and political officials have written off any possibility of restoring commuter rail service on this corridor, it appears that the permanent riddence of this line as a mass transit asset is part of the agenda started in the 1970s to reduce this high grade piece of infrastructure to low grade use. The position of the Northampton Township board of supervisors confirms that the politicians do not care what the voters want and that they are taking orders from higer authorities.
We note this because until 2010, Bucks County had continued to endorse the reactivation of the Fox Chase-Newtown line as a vital transportation corridor to the municipalities in Bucks County that have little to no access to mass transit. Once the Bryn Athyn inspired and Montgomery County led charge to convert the line to a trail took hold, Bucks County, with the help of ex-Commissioner (and pal of SEPTA boss Pat Deon) Charley Martin who quashed any discussion of restoration of commuter service.
Light rail service on SEPTA's Route 15 is suspended from January 25, 2020 until further notice. The line is being suspended due to failing rolling stock. In the early 2000's, SEPTA chose to rehabilitate 18 PCC cars for use on the line. The cars were reconditioned by a then unknown vendor, Brookville. Only 18 cars were rebuilt while the line requires 15 cars at peak times.
It remains unseen how long temporary bustitution will be in effect on the line. Past failed promises on lines such as Fox Chase-Newtown do not give much credit to SEPTA's
promise of temporary suspension. In addition, SEPTA has no funding to modernize the trolley system with new cars and level boarding stops across the system.
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Over the past several years, interest amongst residents and elected officials in West Chester have been discussing options for restoring commuter rail service to West Chester.
Unlike other abandoned SEPTA corridors, the West Chester branch is intact and operating, thanks to the West Chester railroad, who operates occasional tourist service between
West Chester and Glen Mills.
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While West Chester would benefit from reactivated rail serivce, much of the line traverses sparsely populated areas and would attract little ridership between West Chester University and the future Wawa station. It remains unclear where funding for this project will come from.