A Morrisville Station

Has SEPTA ever considered building a station in Morrisville, Pa. ? The Yardley and Trenton stations are overcrowded and do not have adequate parking available.

No but NJT has and it was shot down by legislators in NJ because they didnt want to lose parking revenue in Trenton

When NJT was building their yard in Morrisville they set aside land for a station to be built there. The story was that they would stop their trains there if someone else built the station. No entity SEPTA, Bucks Cty, Falls Twnshp, was willing to pay for it so it never got built. This proposed station was also supposed to be the last stop on the proposed cross county metro.

From a 1994 US Dept of Transportation Report:

Transportation Center

Project Location: Morrisville, Pennsylvania

Description: The concept of Morrisville transportation center is an
outgrowth of New Jersey Transit's (NJT's) plans to obtain a portion of
Conrail's Morrisville Yard to store and maintain Northeast Corridor
equipment. The proposal is to construct a rail station at the east
end of NJT's proposed yard. Currently, 5,000 Pennsylvania residents
board trains at Trenton, NJ, each weekday and an additional several
hundred drive to Princeton Junction. A Morrisville station could
attract well over 7,500 riders a day. The station could also become a
focal point for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
(SEPTA) bus service in lower Bucks County. The station could become
the eastern terminus for SEPTA's Cross County Metro service to operate
over the Conrail Trenton cut-off from Downingtown east. SEPTA's R3
West Trenton line service could be directed to Morrisville over an
existing connection of the line at Woodbourne. This would give areas
such as Jenkintown and Bethayres a direct connection to the Northeast
Corridor through Morrisville. A driving force for this project is the
upcoming reconstruction of 1-95 within Pennsylvania. Increased rail
service use could be a substitute for driving while the highway is
being rebuilt. Possible commercial additions to the station include a
day-care center (in response to a survey from potential riders).

Status: A group has formed to promote the transportation center and
has received support from State legislators and support from Falls
Township and other towns in the area. SEPTA has recently completed
the Cross County Metro Feasibility study with an FTA grant in the
amount of $200,000. SEPTA also has an application in the amount of
$1,204,748 to conduct a major investment study.

Funding: None to date.

Local Contact: Phillip Ralston (private citizen)
1O Green Ridge Road
Yardley, PA 19067
(215) 493-4485

Other Contacts: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
John Coscia
Executive Director
John Dawson
The Bourse Building, 8th Floor
111 S. Independence Mall East
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2515
(215) 592-1800

65

.

Richard Bickel
Director, Long-Range Planning
Planning and Development
SEPTA
714 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 580-7960

The story on NJT's side is that Falls Twp was opposed to the station, so NJT lost interest in it as it usually does when local NJ communities oppose service.

NJT also built Hamilton station with about 1,615 parking spaces, just north of Trenton, a few years ago, thereby taking off some of the parking pressures on Princeton Junction and Trenton stations.

I find it difficult to believe that Falls Township would oppose a station at Morrisville.....Falls Township is not exactly your bedroom-type community township, but a township that has always been highly industrialized.

Just a few steps from the Morrisville Yards (proposed site for station), lies a large and healthy, heavy-duty industrial park. U.S. Steel with all of its trappings (although it is not as productive as it once was - but, hey, you never know when steel production at the old mill might pick up; Steel distributors & fabricators are there; a hugh K-Mart warehouse, a foam rubber factory; a company that makes sticky decals...and many, many more industrial companies are located in the near area.

Also, there is a large community of mobile homes (where I believe many seniors live). I've lived in Falls for many years, and have always known that township to be quite commercial-minded. It's like this in Falls, if you want to park a dump truck in the vacant lot next to your house, chances are, nobody will complain.

The Morrisville site would be just great for a station, and there are not many...or hardly any homes in the vicinity; whereby someone would be greatly disturbed by the station's traffic, noise, etc.

You don't have to sell me. I agree that it would have been ideal for the area.

The reason it hasn't been built.........IT JUST MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE! As an occasional commuter to NYC, I'd be thrilled to have a station on this side of the river, the parking in Trenton and getting back to Rt 1 South is a PITA and who wants to drive even further to Hamilton?