Station Review #2: Temple University (SEPTA)

Sign for Temple University Station

Temple University Station is a train station in SEPTA's Regional Rail network. Every single SEPTA Regional Rail train line serves this station, and you can tell this from how much larger it is compared to a lot of other train stations in the SEPTA network. This station is directly served by no buses, but is walking distance from the 3, 23, 39, & 47 buses. 

Station Tour:

The Outside of the Train Station
The train station is on a bridge, and the entrance is on Berks Street, which becomes Polett Walk. Walking to the station, there is a fenced off staircase that was once one of the entrances for the station. This is blocked off for a reason, please don't go there. 

Walking to the station, you are greeted with the sight shown above. There are turnstiles, common for stations in the Center City Zone. 

Closer look at those turnstiles

This area looks oddly similar to something youd find on a station for the MFL, probably because not every Temple student is going to use the turnstiles otherwise. 

Looking behind the turnstiles, you find the ticket station, ticket kiosks, a map of the Temple Campus, and some art. 
The ticket office 

Map of Temple University

The Aforementioned art installation (with a small garden too! 

Immediately after going through the turnstiles and making your way up the stairs, you reach a fork in the road. Taking the right path leads you to tracks 1 & 2, which serve the Chestnut Hill East, Fox Chase, Lansdale/Doylestown, Manayunk/Norristown, Warminister, & West Trenton lines. Taking a left meanwhile leads you to tracks 3 & 4, for the Airport, Chestnut Hill West, Media/Wawa (labeled on the sign as Media/Elwyn), Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton, & Wilmington/Newark Lines. Here, there are also some bulletin boards for notices and one of the new Intersection "interactive transit kiosks" (doesn't look much like a kiosk to me) added to a lot of higher traffic stations, like Temple University Station.

The track info

The main part of the station is on the other side of these staircases, two islands with four tracks. Each island has a structure that is reminiscent of a gas station's canopy, as shown in the photos below. 
Each island also has three shelters, with seats inside them arranged in an S pattern, and with a button for heating. 

One of the shelters
Seating inside the station
Heating inside one of the shelters

To add to the experience, Temple University Station is elevated, meaning that you get a chance to see a nice view from the station. 



Large Station Basic Amenities Checklist:

Accessible: ✓ 
Bathrooms: ×
Clean Station: ✓
Connections to other transit routes: ✓ 
Convenience Store/similar place inside: ×
Easy passage for each side: ✓ 
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ✓ 
Indoor Shelters: ×
Maps: ✓ 
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓ 
Seating: ✓ 
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ✓
Ticket Kiosks (if applicable): ✓
Ticket Offices: ✓
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ✓ 
TOD: ✓
Updated Signage: ✓ (If you're willing to excuse the Media/Elwyn line mention, since the speakers mention it being the Media/Wawa line)

FINAL RATING:  8.5/10


Temple University Station isn't perfect by any means but it is the perfect example of an urban commuter rail train station done well.  

Station Directory


--------Montgomery County--------
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Glenside

Trains continue from West Trenton 

Jenkintown - Wyncote
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Elkins Park
Melrose Park
--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Fern Rock Transportation Center

Trains continue from Fox Chase or Chestnut Hill East

Wayne Junction

Trains continue from Norristown

North Broad
''''''''CCCC Zone''''''''
Temple University
Jefferson
Suburban
30th Street

Trains continue to Cynwyd or Thorndale

Penn Medicine 

Trains continue to Media/Wawa, Wilmington/Newark or Philadelphia International Airport 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Station Review #40: West Ardmore (Amtrak/SEPTA)

Image
West Ardmore is a temporary station on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor, which takes service from the Keystone Service and SEPTA's Paoli - Thorndale Line. Despite this, the station is more like a SEPTA station that some Amtrak trains stop at than an Amtrak station. West Ardmore station is located on the Montgomery County side of Ardmore, PA. This station, normally a part of Ardmore Station itself, is treated as a stand-alone station while Ardmore is being rebuilt.  Tour I am legitimately proud of this photo There is very little at West Ardmore station. It's basically two platforms, a few bus stops, and an AmShack. Also, there is no entrance there. Have fun getting to the station, it's very hard to do. Wayfinding that leads to a construction site The original station building, as it's being demolished  Through a stroke of luck, walking through a random street in Ardmore, you do eventually get to the station, and its hilarious
Read more

Station Review #23: Tacony (SEPTA)

Image
Tacony Station is a train station on SEPTA's Trenton Line, located in the Tacony neighborhood of Lower Northeast Philadelphia. The station is located next to Disston Park, while also being sandwiched next to a highway as well. History Old picture of the old Tacony Station building  Tacony station has a long and storied history. At first, Tacony sprung up as a town on the Delaware river, fueled by its importance to transportation in the area. You see, Tacony station existed as the end of the line for the southbound version of the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, which was banned from going towards Kensington and ultimately Philadelphia. Thus, they created a ferry wharf very close to the station for ferries to Walnut Street dock in Philadelphia. This arrangement existed for about 40-50 years. During this time, Tacony was a major transportation hub. Sometime in the 1870s, the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad was bought by the Pennsylvania Railroad.  it was d
Read more

Station Review #30: Link Belt (SEPTA)

Image
Sign Link Belt is a station on SEPTA's Lansdale - Doylestown line, located in the southern portion of the small village of Line Lexington, PA, near county line road.  History Link Belt Factory and Station Link Belt is a company that started in 1880 in Belle Mead, Iowa. Link Belt primarily makes machinery, such as cranes, among other things. In 1952, Link Belt opened a factory aling County Line Road, in Hatfield Township, Pennsylvania, just south of the villeg of Line Lexington. Not long after, the Reading Railroad made a rail spur that went to the factory, and then a platform for a station, aptly titled "Link Belt" after the factory. The Link Belt station was made for workers at the factory to get to and from their houses and the factory.  The Link Belt factory closed in 1983, after 31 years of operation, and was replaced with other factories. Sometime later, SEPTA not only took control of operations, but they also completely remodeled the station as well.  So
Read more