Wayne Junction Station Project MPMS #77183

Assuming the board approves the bond measure tomorrow, $25 million is expected to start the Wayne Junction Station project as decribed below from the capital budget.

General Manager Joe Casey said that the nearby substation is a critical piece of infrastructure that needs immediate replacement or the northern railroad will fail. So the question is posed why this project is being done ahead of more important infrastructure repairs.

Wayne Junction Station ($22,187,529) (MPMS #77183)
This project includes design and construction of accessibility and facility improvements at Wayne Junction
Station. The scope of work includes the removal of existing canopies and construction of new 200-foot
canopies and windscreens on both the inbound and outbound platforms. A new low-level platform will
extend between Germantown Avenue and Wayne Avenue. A new high-level platform will be constructed
on the inbound side. Two new elevators will be installed at Wayne Avenue, one each accessing the
inbound and outbound platforms. New lighting and signage will be installed. A new track crossover on
the R7 Chestnut Hill East Line will be installed to allow for a single track access to the platform.

A cost increase was approved in November by the DVRPC's Regional Transportation Committee for an intermodal component of the station (I assume that means parking):

PA11-04a: Transit and Regional Rail Station Program (MPMS# 77183), SEPTA –
Cost Increase/Addition of New Projects
SEPTA has requested that DVRPC modify the FY2011-2014 TIP for Pennsylvania
by increasing the scope of the following program: Transit and Regional Rail Station
Program (MPMS# 77183), to include the Parkside Bus Loop Reconstruction and
Wayne Junction Intermodal Facility projects. As a result, the program will increase
by a total of $7.175 million, which will be programmed in FY11 ($5,740,000 Section
5309 (from competitive program)/$1,389,000 T-Bond/$46,000 Local). The additional
federal funding for this program is being provided by the Livability Initiative
competitive program, and is additional funding to the region. State and local funds
are being provided by other SEPTA projects due to reduced project costs. Both the
Parkside Bus Loop Reconstruction ($2.2 million) and Wayne Junction Intermodal
Facility ($4.975 million) projects are reflected on SEPTA's Illustrative list of unfunded
and deferred projects, and will now be programmed in the TIP as additional funding
has been made available to the DVRPC region.

The reason is the specifics of how the project is being funded. There was a 'use it or lose it' federal grant, but it does not cover the entire cost of the project.

Note that the bulk of the bond issue is for the purpose of financing the Silverliner V order. SEPTA had been expecting to finance it using a capital lease (see FY 11 Capital Budget), but apparently it turned out that bond financing would be less costly. So the net impact on long-term finance payments is pretty small.

This is not a 'debt bomb' like we've seen at DRPA or the New York MTA.

jfrey40535 wrote:General Manager Joe Casey said that the nearby substation is a critical piece of infrastructure that needs immediate replacement or the northern railroad will fail. So the question is posed why this project is being done ahead of more important infrastructure repairs.

I agree with you Jon, and Matt is correct also.

There was use it or lose it money specifically earmarked for the station itself. Station projects are sexy and sell politically. Substations aren't.

The unthinkable scenario I envision is a beautiful Wayne Junction station with no trains running because of failed electrical infrastructure.

Who's to blame?

If substations aren't "sexy" enough to fund and get done, then Mr. Casey should alter his roadshow to talk about non-SOGR projects that politicians are interested in funding. It sounds like we could have gotten alot more political capital talking about the inequities of facilties such as Wayne Junction station verses Melrose Park, or Langhorne (with its golden oak doors) which is in Pat Deon's home town, while Wayne Jct. falls off the earth.

Considering the situation Clearfield described above, we may see that sunny day of a sparkling new WJ station with no train service because the substation finally melted down because no one could stand in front of it and get their picture taken.

Matthew Mitchell wrote:Note that the bulk of the bond issue is for the purpose of financing the Silverliner V order. SEPTA had been expecting to finance it using a capital lease (see FY 11 Capital Budget), but apparently it turned out that bond financing would be less costly. So the net impact on long-term finance payments is pretty small.

I think most people are aware that the bulk of the bonds are for the SLV's, but back to the WJ issue, its alot of money to be dumping in a single place where there are repairs that are needed elsewhere that SEPTA has portrayed as dire.

jfrey40535 wrote:Considering the situation Clearfield described above, we may see that sunny day of a sparkling new WJ station with no train service because the substation finally melted down because no one could stand in front of it and get their picture taken.

Both Governor Rendell and GM Casey did just that at a press conference held at the main sub at Wayne Electric. Not much press coevrage though, but it bears out my point on the relative sexiness of projects.

I wonder how "sexy" it will be to stand in front of a non-functional substation and explain to the riders why there was no funding to fix it before the trains ground to a halt.

I raised just this question with SEPTA today. The project being funded by the bonds (just 10% of them) does not adversely impact other necessary infrastructure projects like the substation (unless you want to go back to the bad old days of megaprojects like RailWorks [NSM]). The only way it would would be if you wanted SEPTA to go into debt to fund routine capital needs like the substation, and SEPTA is too conservative in its financial planning to do things that way--they don't want to end up with a debt bomb like New York MTA or like DRPA, and I agree with them on that.

There was a "use it or lose it" federal grant for part of this project, and the bond which was already being put together for the Silverliners was a convenient vehicle by which to get the remaining funds. So there's nothing SEPTA's doing wrong here, at least from a finance standpoint (I reserve judgement on the Wayne Junction technical details).

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/penns ... 42879.html

Under a decaying ceiling in the ticket office, next to peeling paint and not far from a collapsed roof, SEPTA and local officials collected $4 million from the Obama administration on Thursday to help rebuild the 110-year-old Wayne Junction rail station in Germantown.

jfrey40535 wrote:

Wayne Junction Station ($22,187,529) (MPMS #77183)
The scope of work includes the removal of existing canopies and construction of new 200-foot
canopies and windscreens on both the inbound and outbound platforms. A new low-level platform will
extend between Germantown Avenue and Wayne Avenue. A new high-level platform will be constructed

zebrasepta wrote:http://www.philly.com/philly/news/penns ... 42879.html

Under a decaying ceiling in the ticket office, next to peeling paint and not far from a collapsed roof, SEPTA and local officials collected $4 million from the Obama administration on Thursday to help rebuild the 110-year-old Wayne Junction rail station in Germantown.

I haven't paid attention for a while, but the existing outbound high level platform is the new one, built sometime in the 1980's. Within a couple of years a big part of that new platform's canopy fell down and I haven't noticed it getting replaced or fixed. At the same time the old inbound low level platform's canopy at least was still standing, although I can't testify to if it leaked or not.
If the above 110 year old quote applies to the canopy itself, and not just the first piece of station that was at Wayne Junction, at the time I noticed the new canopy had fallen the old unfallen canopy would have been 90 years. This is not the first time I've ranted on this. I've long wondered why did the new canopy fall down so quickly while the old one had stayed up? And how confident are we that the new new canopy will last?

jfrey40535 wrote: A cost increase was approved in November by the DVRPC's Regional Transportation Committee for an intermodal component of the station (I assume that means parking):

I'm also curious what there will be about the future Wayne Junction station that will make it any more intermodal than the existing station. The station's between Wayne Ave bus 53, Germantown Ave bus 23, alongside Windrim Ave hopefully trackless trolley 75. Other than adding pedestrian 'Walk' buttons that actually work, I don't see any intermodal improvement that would be worth the cost. Is there a transit professionsmile nearby who knows?

Along with you the only thing I can guess is parking. It's unlikely to me that anybody from outside the neighborhood regularly drives to the station and parks their car on the street, but I'm not sure many would drive and park in an unsecured parking lot either. All I know about it is what I've read in these august fora, there have been some posts that say for example Frankford terminal's parking garage is not very secure, and not very popular in part because of the poor security. All other things being equal I'm sure most folks believe Wayne Junction's a far worse neighborhood than Frankford terminal. I have in my lifetime wandered the streets of both neighborhoods on foot, bicycle, SEPTA and car.

Patrick Boylan wrote:

jfrey40535 wrote: A cost increase was approved in November by the DVRPC's Regional Transportation Committee for an intermodal component of the station (I assume that means parking):

I'm also curious what there will be about the future Wayne Junction station that will make it any more intermodal than the existing station. The station's between Wayne Ave bus 53, Germantown Ave bus 23, alongside Windrim Ave hopefully trackless trolley 75. Other than adding pedestrian 'Walk' buttons that actually work, I don't see any intermodal improvement that would be worth the cost. Is there a transit professionsmile nearby who knows?

Along with you the only thing I can guess is parking. It's unlikely to me that anybody from outside the neighborhood regularly drives to the station and parks their car on the street, but I'm not sure many would drive and park in an unsecured parking lot either. All I know about it is what I've read in these august fora, there have been some posts that say for example Frankford terminal's parking garage is not very secure, and not very popular in part because of the poor security. All other things being equal I'm sure most folks believe Wayne Junction's a far worse neighborhood than Frankford terminal. I have in my lifetime wandered the streets of both neighborhoods on foot, bicycle, SEPTA and car.

The plans was to send Routes 2, 33, and 56 from their current terminals (Pulaski & Clarissa and Venago Loop respectively) to berths along Windrim Avenue to provide vastly improved Reverse commuting options along the SEPTA Main Line and her branches.

Not a bad idea. I'm not a transit or traffic expert, but I'd have those 3 routes loop around the station.

http://mapq.st/kjMbSc
Following the 53 route, left from Clarissa St at Windrim onto Wayne Ave, unload between Windrim and Berkely, which looks like it's at least a good 10 bus lengths long, and if I remember correctly is where the 53 stop is. I can see how a few bucks for new sidewalk suitable for unloading buses and getting decent station stairway access is a good idea.
Then a right turn on Berkely, Germantown, then Windrim to loop around and pick up outbound bus passengers. I didn't see that Windrim Ave needs much sidewalk or curb improvement, there's a stairway to both platforms on Germantown Ave, middle of Windrim Ave between Germantown and Wayne, and the other stairway on Wayne Ave, so there are lots of decent spots already for a lot of buses to layover near a station stairway without spending much money.

I hope they keep the buses in service while looping around and pick a layover spot intelligently so it's as convenient to the most possible passengers. Berkeley at Germantown is rather narrow, at first thought maybe the best is after unloading at Wayne after Windrim they have a normal bus stop on Berkely between Greene and Germantown, another in the same spot as the 23 bus on Germantown at Windrim, then layover on Windrim. That way somebody running down Greene, Germantown or Stenton who just misses their bus stands a good chance of still catching it on Windrim.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to spend a few bucks painting layover spots on Windrim to help drivers decide where to park their buses and still minimally obstruct other movements, especially route 75 trackless trolleys which need to stay close to their wires. But layman that I am I don't see that they need to spend much more on things like diagonal pavement cuts for bus berths. That money would better go towards shelters and benches, which they shouldn't need too much of if the buses were available as waiting rooms during their layover which in my perfect world they would be.

So what I imagine looks like a train station with 6 bus routes on public streets, as opposed to a station with an incorporated bus loop.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/neig ... -hill-east

Several projects along SEPTA's Chestnut Hill East regional rail line will move ahead in the coming months, most notably the long-awaited update of the 110-year-old Wayne Junction station.
In an interview with NewsWorks this week, officials from the transit agency detailed ongoing and future plans for station improvements and right-of-way work along the rail line that connects several key Northwest neighborhoods with the rest of the city.
By far the largest component will be a three-year, $33 million upgrade at Wayne Junction, which is currently out to bid, said Bob Lund, SEPTA's senior director of capital construction.
The work will include new elevators and other features to bring the station into full Americans With Disabilities Act compliance, along with restoration of historic building features and rehabbing of the Germantown Headhouse. Also, tunnels and stairways from Wayne, Germantown and Windrim avenues will be restored, and new public-announcement system and benches will be installed. The Wayne Avenue Bridge will also get a fresh paint job.
"It's essentially going to be a brand-new station," Lund said, "but this is a historic site and this [work] will take that into consideration."
The project, included as part of SEPTA's $250 million borrowing plan approved in January, is currently out to bid and contracts are expected to be awarded in the fall, allowing the agency to use a $4 million competitive federal grant toward the project.
One interesting detail of the project will include raising the floors inside the station to the same height as the existing high-level outbound platform and a planned new high-level inbound platform, said Jeff Knueppel, SEPTA's chief engineer.
"We noticed the windows were very high inside the station building, so we are just able to raise the floors," he said. "We're able to achieve what we're looking for for our passengers and for the disabled, but I think that everyone will be happy with the historical preservation."
First opened as a stop on the Reading Railroad in the 1880s, the Wayne Junction Station is a key hub for SEPTA riders, serving more than 190,000 riders on the five SEPTA regional rail lines, one trackless trolley and two bus routes converging there.
The station also serves as a key component to the Germantown and Nicetown Transit-Oriented Plan, a joint planning document created by SEPTA and area civic groups including the Nicetown CDC. It calls Wayne Junction "a central gateway" to the area and says it "should be a catalyst for economic development and street life in the area."
Lund said Wayne Junction work would be phased, and the station would remain open at all times during the project.

Further research on this issue indicates that the Wayne Junction Station project was prioritized as a component to rebrand that neighborhood area as a transit oriented community, featuring new TOD specific developments, that presumably would replace existing housing stock in the area now.

redarrow5591 wrote:

Patrick Boylan wrote:

jfrey40535 wrote: A cost increase was approved in November by the DVRPC's Regional Transportation Committee for an intermodal component of ..
Along with you the only thing I can guess is parking. It's unlikely to me that anybody from outside the neighborhood regularly drives to the station and parks their car on the street, but I'm not sure many would drive and park in an unsecured parking lot either. All I know about it is what I've read in these august fora, there have been some posts that say for example Frankford terminal's parking garage is not very secure, and not very popular in part because of the poor security. All other things being equal I'm sure most folks believe Wayne Junction's a far worse neighborhood than Frankford terminal. I have in my lifetime wandered the streets of both neighborhoods on foot, bicycle, SEPTA and car.

The plans was to send Routes 2, 33, and 56 from their current terminals (Pulaski & Clarissa and Venago Loop respectively) to berths along Windrim Avenue to provide vastly improved Reverse commuting options along the SEPTA Main Line and her branches.

is this still the plan? if so any eta ?

Could the "intermodal" reference involve an off-street bus loop? Maybe even with a roof over it?