Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The aging Bristol Borough train station has seen a lot over its decades in service. And now, officials are looking at an overhaul.
The station on SEPTA’s Trenton Line that runs along Amtrak’s vital Northeast Corridor is in need of repairs and refurbishment. By the looks of it, the station on Beaver Street needs an refresh.
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Kate O’Connor, SEPTA’s chief engineer, said the regional transit agency will begin some cleaning and painting, installation of new hand rails on stairwells, replacing old beams, and repairs to steel starting in July as part of short-term improvements.
Looking further into the future, SEPTA is eying a station rebuild.
SEPTA is seeking funding to reconstruct the high-level platforms. Under the conceptual plan, SEPTA is looking to use ramps and stairs to provide access to the high-level platforms. The upgrades will improve the look of the station and make it easier and safer for riders to board and disembark from trains. The proposal also calls for emergency low-level platforms that could be used by SEPTA or Amtrak staff and passengers if needed.
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The station rebuild would keep access to Trenton-bound and Philadelphia-bound trains on Prospect and Garden streets and allow for the platforms to be accessible for people with disabilities.
Borough and SEPTA officials have met in recent months to talk about the plan.
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Bristol Borough Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said he preferred the ramps to elevators because the elevators could be used for the wrong reasons.
Credit: Office of Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Middletown Township, has requested $5 million from the federal government to fund SEPTA’s proposed project.
“Improved stairways, new canopies, and high-quality platform shelters are welcome amenities that will make waiting at and riding from Bristol Station more pleasant and convenient for riders,” Fitzpatrick’s request said.
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SEPTA has completed overhauls of the stations in Bristol Township’s Croydon section and Tullytown Borough’s Levittown section in recent years.
The former Bristol Train Station building at the base of the high-level platform was abandoned for years and restored more than 20 years ago with funding from the Grundy Foundation, government, and other organizations. The station building is now used as a day care and. It was constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1910.
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The station off of Beaver Street replaced one that previously operated for years at Pond and Market streets.
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