Station Review #3: Eddington (SEPTA)

One of the smaller signs at the station, as larger signs do not exist there.

Eddington station is a regional rail station on SEPTA's Trenton line, located in the small town of Eddington, PA (itself located within the much larger Bensalem Township). Eddington is also one of the worst stations in SEPTA's network, and once you visit, it's not hard to see why I say this. 

More about the station

A more specific answer to where this station is, is that Eddington station is located on Street Road, at the Street Road exit for I-95. This location is also the start of the station's issues.

Map of the location of the station

As anyone looking at this blog post can tell, this train station is extremely hard to reach, even worse if you were to walk to it. If you were to start in the rest of Eddington (upper left hand corner), and tried to get to the station, you would need to cross an exit of Street road, go up a staircase that's extremely easy to miss, cross I-95, and walk for a bit until you see a concrete staircase. And once you do, remember to look down at the station, for you will be greeted with this amazing sight: 

Yes, that's the entire train station. You just spent 10 minutes even getting to the station just to see this.

Accessibility (or lack thereof) 

Now, in order to get to the train station from here, you have to take yet another concrete staircase, though this one is much more decrepit than the last, and it's also much longer. 

I should mention how inaccessible this station is, as if the image above didn't already reek of inaccessibility. There is no elevator down, nor a ramp. Eddington station lacks any form of raised platforms, or any form of platforms at all besides a few very small ones that barely make it possible to actually board a train at this station. In fact, much of the station property is dirt, moreso than the average train station. There is a fence (presumably for safety) that makes it impossible to get to the other side by crossing the tracks.

Also, while there is the one other way of entering the station (through a path that starts at a private parking lot for a HVAC part store), that path only works if you're going towards Trenton. If you want to go to Philadelphia, you have to take the stairs, and cross to the stairs on the other side. 

The platforms

The Shelters
The shelters at the station are small, and green, similar to the ones at Tacony or Crum Lynne. 

There is very little inside the structures. Inside you find a bench, key card reader, and a few signs, none of which are in any way helpful. There's also a notice or two up but not much else.

This place has a very eloquent, but concisely worded review on Google Maps that fits this image perfectly: "hell." 

Oh yeah, did I mention that the station has inadequate lighting? There is not a single light at the station, not a street lamp near the station, nor a light on the ceiling of the shelters. Here at Eddington station, you get absolutely nothing. 

SEPTA Trenton Line train at Eddington Station 

Transit Connections (or lack thereof)

Eddington station is supposedly served by two bus routes, the 128 and the 133. Of these two routes, only the 133 is easy to get to, as it's on the other side of the parking lot for the nearby HVAC part store. Unfortunately, the 133 is also notorious for having one of the worst schedules among the SEPTA bus network. 

The only bus route remaining in this list is the 128, which is a dangerous affair to access itself. Remember the ritual I mentioned earlier to get to the station? The reason why I mention this is because you need to do it in reverse, only instead you need to cross the southbound exit for Street Road and Bristol Pike, and then walk eastbound for a moment on a stroad with little to no sidewalk to get to a patch of grass where you board the 128 bus. 

I wonder how the bus driver felt about having to slow down for some random person at what's barely a stop while they actually had some speed (well speed for a bus at least) 

Rural/Small Station Checklist:


Accessibility: ×
Bike Parking: ×
Clean: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ×
Easy passage to either side: × 
Fare Payment Kiosks: ✓
Good Lighting: ×
Maps: ×
Parking: × 
Shelters: ✓
Seating: ✓ 
Station in Good Condition: × 
Train Departure/Arrival Info: × 
Updated Signage: ✓ 

Final verdict: 0/10.


Station Directory

--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
Jefferson (Market East)
Suburban
30th Street
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
--------Bucks County--------
Cornwell Heights
Eddington
Croydon
''''''''Zone 4''''''''
Bristol
Levittown - Tullytown
--------New Jersey--------
--------Mercer County--------
''''''''NJ Zone''''''''
Trenton Transit Center

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