PHILADELPHIA — Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and other officials on Monday marked the opening of the rebuilt and renamed Drexel Station at 30th Street, the transit up for transit and bus lines adjacent to the station served by Amtrak and SEPTA Regional Rail.
The new station name reflects a $3.1 million endowment from Drexel University, granting naming rights for five years, the Philadelphia Tribune reports. Overall, the station project was funded by $15 million in U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant funding and $34.2 million in state Department of Transportation funds. Improvements include a new glass headhouse and canopy; upgraded elevators, escalators and stars; an improved mezzanine with enhanced lightning and better connections between transit services, and new flooring and tiling.
“The reconstruction of this flagship station will not only improve mobility and enhance access for SEPTA customers; it also demonstrates how transit infrastructure investments build communities and support regional economic growth,” SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie S. Richards said in a press release.
The station is served by the Market-Frankford rapid transit line and T, 10, 11, 13, and 34 trolley lines. It is the first to display the elements of the SEPTA Metro Wayfinding initiative, a plan that aims to emphasize the entire SEPTA network rather than its individual elements [see “SEPTA plans rebranding …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 8, 2021]. More Septa Metro signage will debut as the year progresses.
“and T, 10, 11, 13, and 34 trolley lines” – there’s no SEPTA T line and route 36 is missing. That should be “and the 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 trolley lines” although long-time Philly residents know them as the subway-surface lines.
Great, now for an underground pedestrian connection connecting the two.