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Coordinates: 40°10′19″N 75°02′38″W / 40.1720°N 75.0438°W / 40.1720; -75.0438
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==Resumption of train service==
==Resumption of train service==
In the ensuing years, there has been interest in resuming passenger service by Bucks County officials, including the Upper Southampton Board of Supervisors.<ref>[http://www.r8newtown.com/documents/UST_Rail_Resolution.pdf Rail resolution]</ref> Neighboring [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]] officials are supportive of re-thinking the rail corridor as well, though the belief within SEPTA management is that the section through [[Lorimer Park]] and [[Walnut Hill (SEPTA station)|Walnut Hill Station]] (the only sparsely populated section along the railway) will never generate enough riders to be feasible. In September 2009, the [[Southampton, Pennsylvania|Southampton-based]] '''Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC)''' began discussions with the towns along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region.<ref>[http://www.r8newtown.com/ r8newtown.com]</ref>
In the ensuing years, there has been interest in resuming passenger service by Bucks County officials, including the Upper Southampton Board of Supervisors.<ref>[http://www.r8newtown.com/documents/UST_Rail_Resolution.pdf Rail resolution]</ref> Neighboring [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]] officials are supportive of re-thinking the rail corridor as well, though the belief within SEPTA management is that the section through [[Lorimer Park]] and [[Walnut Hill (SEPTA station)|Walnut Hill Station]] (the only sparsely populated section along the railway) will never generate enough riders to be feasible.
In September 2009, the [[Southampton, Pennsylvania|Southampton-based]] '''Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC)''' began discussions with along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region.<ref>[http://www.r8newtown.com/ r8newtown.com]</ref>


==Station restoration==
==Station restoration==

Revision as of 18:33, 26 February 2010

Southampton
SEPTA regional rail
Southampton Station
General information
LocationSecond Street Pike and Knowles Avenue
Upper Southampton, Pennsylvania.
Coordinates40°10′19″N 75°02′38″W / 40.1720°N 75.0438°W / 40.1720; -75.0438
Owned bySEPTA
Line(s)Lua error in Module:Adjacent_stations at line 430: "title" is missing from the data page.
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Construction
Platform levels1
Parking15 spaces
History
Opened1892
ClosedJanuary 14, 1983
ElectrifiedNo
Previous namesReading Railroad
Services
Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station
(closed 1983)
Template:SEPTA lines
(closed 1983)

Southampton is an unused train station located on Second Street Pike (PA-232) near Knowles Avenue in Upper Southampton, Pennsylvania.

History

Built in 1892, Southampton Station was a stop on the Reading Railroad's Newtown Line. It later became a part of SEPTA's Fox Chase-Newtown Rapid Transit Line. The station, and all of those north of Fox Chase, was closed on January 14, 1983[1], due to failing diesel train equipment resulting in low ridership.

In addition, a labor dispute began within the SEPTA organization when the transit operator inherited 1,700 displaced employees from Conrail. SEPTA insisted on utilizing transit operators from the Broad Street Subway to operate Fox Chase-Newtown diesel trains, while Conrail requested that railroad motormen run the service. When a federal court ruled that SEPTA had to use Conrail employees in order to offer job assurance, SEPTA cancelled Fox Chase-Newtown trains.[2] Service in the diesel-only territory north of Fox Chase was cancelled at that time, and Southampton Station still appears in publicly posted tariffs.[3]

Although rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus, patronage remained light. The traveling public never saw a bus service as a suitable replacement for a rail service, and the Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus service ended in 1999.

Fire

Three months after SEPTA assumed operations, on January 2, 1982, the crossing at Second Street Pike just south of Southampton Station was the site of a fiery crash between a train, a gasoline truck, and a car. Five people were injured and the accident caused flames to shoot fifty feet in the air and created a plume of black smoke visible for miles.[4] Witnesses to the accident said that the crossing signal equipment had not been working properly.[5] SEPTA general manager David L. Gunn ordered additional safety precautions, but service ceased just over a year after the accident.[6]

Resumption of train service

In the ensuing years, there has been interest in resuming passenger service by Bucks County officials, including the Upper Southampton Board of Supervisors.[7] Neighboring Montgomery County officials are supportive of re-thinking the rail corridor as well, though the belief within SEPTA management is that the section through Lorimer Park and Walnut Hill Station (the only sparsely populated section along the railway) will never generate enough riders to be feasible.

In September 2009, the Southampton-based Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC) began discussions with township officials along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region. Plans call for completing the electrification to Newtown, as originally planned in the late 1970s. Both Bucks and Montgomery County officials, as well as state representatives, have been receptive to PA-TEC's efforts, despite SEPTA's overall reservations. However, SEPTA has also confirmed that they are indeed open to revisiting the line if there is strong political support in both counties.[8]

Station restoration

The Southampton Railroad Station Society is currently trying to raise funds to restore the station.[9]

References

  1. ^ r8newtown.com
  2. ^ Tulsky, Fredric N. (January 29, 1982). "Conrail Staff Must Run Trains: court ruling bars SEPTA takeover". Philadelphia Inquirer.SEPTA must use Conrail workers rather than its own personnel to run trains over the region's 13 commuter lines, a special federal court has ruled in a decision that offers some job assurance for 1,700 Conrail employees next year. The special court, in an opinion issued Wednesday, ruled that SEPTA had acted legally in October when it replaced Conrail workers with its former subway operators on the line.
  3. ^ SEPTA Tariff No. 154; effective July 1, 2009
  4. ^ Halsey, III, Ashley (January 3, 1982). "5 Hurt in Fiery Rail Collision". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  5. ^ Stecklow, Steve (January 4, 1982). "Clues Sought in Crash of Train, Truck". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. ^ Tulsky, Frederic N. (January 7, 1982). "SEPTA Stiffens Rail Safety Rules". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  7. ^ Rail resolution
  8. ^ r8newtown.com
  9. ^ "Train station's restoration to cost $350,000". Bucks County Courier Times. October 4, 2006.
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