New Levittown SEPTA Station Makes ‘Transformational Change’

It was a rainy day five years ago when officials gathered to announce the Levittown Train Station was going to be rebuilt. On Thursday with rain falling again, many of those same officials announced the construction on the SEPTA station along the Trenton Line had completed.

The station is a complete overhaul and rejuvenation from the decades-old building that was falling apart and included a skeezy tunnel that went under the tracks in Tullytown Borough.

The reconstruction project included a passenger overpass with elevators in place of the tunnel, new passenger shelters with canopies, a fresh station building that includes a waiting area and restrooms, upgraded pedestrian and vehicular access areas, a bus loop, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, reconfiguration and expansion of parking facilities, an additional 70 parking spaces, a new stormwater management system, and new signage and lighting. 

The project came in more than $7 million above the initial price at $37.3 million.

SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel said the circa-1950 William Levitt-built station was out of date and needed to be rebuilt, especially since the station is the third busiest on SEPTA’s Regional Rail Line.

“This station fits in with the history of the railroad,” he said, citing the line was once part of the historic Pennsylvania Railroad.

While SEPTA’s start on the project was “rough in the beginning” in dealing with Tullytown, things were smoothed out and the borough became a good partner for the project, SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale “Pat” Deon Sr. said.

Deon lauded local and state officials for working together to complete the project, noting the station is an investment in the local economy.

“This train station represented the decline and decay of Levittown after the Fairless Works steel mill shut its doors decades ago and took with it the very jobs that built this community,” State Rep. John Galloway said.

“We struggled for decades. And this train station was the very symbol of that struggle.”

Galloway stated that the new train station and redevelopment of the Route 13 corridor in Tullytown “represents a rebirth of Levittown.”

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State Sen. Steve Santarsiero called the project a “transformational change” for the station.

The two state lawmakers said the project was made possible due to federal funding and Pennsylvania Act 89 of 2013, which dedicated new funding for transportation projects. 

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Levittown native, stated that he felt infrastructure investments like the train station help improve the community and make a big impact in the economy.

For Bucks County Commissioners Chairman Robert Loughery, the new station shows the county’s annual $4.1 million investment in SEPTA is paying off.

For Lower Bucks County, the access to transportation is a major benefit for residents and businesses, Loughery said.

The topic of the infamous grimy tunnel that once ran below the Trenton and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor lines between the station’s two platforms came up several times.

Tullytown Mayor David Cutchineal joked that the “tunnel stories are better left unsaid.”

The project presented unique challenges for SEPTA as they constructed the new station. Crews had timed work and installation of the large pedestrian bridge around the schedule of SEPTA, freight, and Amtrak trains. The work could have easily caused problems on the very Northeast Corridor if things went awry.

SEPTA officials thanked contractors for Thomas P. Carney Construction, Miller Brothers Electric, Lima Company, Gannett Fleming Inc., and Sowinski Sullivan Architects.

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