SEPTA’s Ardmore station is now fully renovated and back open to the public after being closed for six years for construction.
The reopening Monday was a welcome sight for riders who had been anxiously waiting for the station to reopen.
The original plan to renovate the train station came out in 2019 and was expected to be completed in 2022, but supply chain issues related to the pandemic delayed construction and set crews back a few years.
The reopening comes after the original station was destroyed in a fire in 1952, and a temporary station has been used ever since.
SEPTA officials say the renovations include new elevations and ADA-compliant ramps to make the station more accessible for seniors and people with disabilities. There are also new high-level platforms for safer and faster boarding, improved pedestrian connections to surrounding businesses, an indoor climate-controlled waiting area, as well as covered waiting areas and upgraded lighting.
“It was pretty exposed, so when you had bad inclement weather, it was a little difficult to stand there, especially with the breeze,” one rider said. “At least now we have a bit of a covered enclosure that you can stand in better than, kind of like the bus shelter they had over there.”
The cost to upgrade the station was $59 million, according to SEPTA. But representatives from the Downtown Ardmore District said the loss of foot traffic had an impact on local businesses and their bottom lines.
“There are ten businesses immediately around us that have been directly impacted by the construction of the station,” Alec Hersh with the Downtown Ardmore District said. “These are incredible businesses, some of which have been here for a very, very long time and have been waiting for a very long time for this station to open, so this opening is a huge weight off their back.”
The station’s 90-car parking lot also reopened Monday.
Officials say they are also planning to hold a grand opening event to celebrate the new renovations sometime in early April.Â
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