Recorded August 21st, 2022

Since SEPTA suspended rail service to West Chester in the fall of 1986, with trains terminating at Elwyn since, the hope that rail service all the way to West Chester would be restored someday.

That 'someday' was partially fulfilled at 6:10am this morning when the first SEPTA train to operate beyond Elwyn departed the new Wawa station on the newly rebuilt line between Elwyn and Wawa. While the intermediate stations at Williamson School, Glen Riddle, and Lenni were not restored in the 3.5 mile segment, the new Wawa station features a twolevel parking deck and three bus bays for connecting transit service.

We're on hand to ride the first train to depart from Wawa to Center City. After disembarking at FernwoodYeadon, it's a return aboard the first outbound train to arrive at Wawa. You'll see plenty of the station as well, and it is coincidence that it is themed after the local convenience store chain of the same name, as the old station on the site was also named Wawa... after the town that is home to the chain that now spans seven states, and soon an eighth.

As expected, many transit and rail fans, as well as regular folks, were on hand for these first trips. And if the trend continues with regular commuters, hopefully it will be the jump start that will see eventual service restoration all the way to West Chester.

Time will tell. But for now, it's a light and fun mood aboard SEPTA's first trains from and to Wawa!