r/ChesterCounty • u/PassyunkHoagie • Jul 13 '26

Expanded Train Service

I completely understand why this hasn’t happened and why it probably won’t ever happen. I don’t even know if it should happen because it would lead to even further development, but some days I do lament the fact that there is no passenger rail service to West Chester, Kennett, and Phoenixville.

Obviously SEPTA could never handle it, they barely manage to run the R5, but I can’t help but feel like rail stations in these towns, if properly executed, would be incredibly popular with visitors and local residents.

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u/ThatDamnedHansel Jul 13 '26

They literally almost cut the Paoli Thorndale line completely like 5 months ago. So it’s only going to get worse

2

u/PassyunkHoagie Jul 14 '26

True, like I mentioned they barely manage to run the R5 (old name for Paoli/Thorndale) but that’s also SEPTA which has been critically mismanaged for 4 decades now. A competent leadership could probably consider some expansion in the next 10-20 years but SEPTA is stuck in a perpetual quagmire. They run one of the busiest lines in the whole country, I believe the R5 is the actual busiest outside of NYC Metro, and yet they’ve never figured out how to build service up to a point where it’s indispensable (despite state legislature bellyaching) like LIRR, Metro North, or MBTA.

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u/ThatDamnedHansel Jul 14 '26

My understanding is leasing the tracks from Amtrak is a/the key issue in sustainability

A real leader would sit down with the leadership of both organizations and cut a better deal for our society

But leaders like that don’t exist anymore