Rechargeable Trains Could Link West Chester to Philly Via Wawa Station

SEPTA and Wawa officials cut the ribbon on the new Wawa regional rail station.Photo byiseptaphilly.com.

SEPTA and Chester County are studying the use of battery-driven rechargeable West Chester Metro trains as a cheaper way to connect West Chester Borough and the city of Philadelphia via the new Wawa station, writes Bill Rettew for the Daily Local News, as appearing in Mass Transit Magazine.

The $16 million West Chester Metro would be less expensive than a conventional regional rail line.  

It would run between West Chester and the restored Wawa station, where passengers would connect with existing SEPTA trains to reach Center City.

Commuter train service once ran from West Chester to Philadelphia but ended in 1986 because of low ridership. Population along the West Chester Branch has since grown 70 percent.

The 194-passenger Metro would use one-of-a-kind, cheaper battery-powered light rail Class 230 trains and recycled London Underground cars.

The trains would stop in West Chester, West Chester University, Westtown, Cheyney University, and the new Wawa station.

Travel time from West Chester to Wawa would be 12 minutes, with 21 round-trips planned daily. 

The entire trip from West Chester to Center City would last 64 minutes. The current 104 SEPTA bus with a transfer to the Market-Frankford El takes 95 minutes.

Read more about the West Chester Metro at Mass Transit Magazine.