Station Review #37: Colmar (SEPTA)


Colmar is a station on SEPTA's Lansdale - Doylestown line, located in the village of Colmar in southern Hatfield Township, PA, at the junction of the Lansdale - Doylestown line and Pennsylvania State Route 309. 

History
Old station building

The building was originally built by the North Pennsylvania railroad in 1856 as Line Lexington Station, though the station itself was not in the nearby village of Line Lexington. 

The station was renamed in 1871 to Colmar, as was the village of Colmar

Sometime around 20 or so years ago, the station was rebuilt. 

Tour
Train at Colmar station

Colmar station is like your average Doylestown Branch station. That is, a shelter on a full - high platform in the middle of nowhere. Most of them except for Lansdale, Link Belt, Delaware Valley University, and Doylestown have the exact same design of shelter.

See?

Colmar is not much different than most of those stations. 

Benches

The inside of the shelter looks exactly how you'd expect a station like this to look. 

Outside of the station 

Otherwise, this is basically just an average train station. 

Land Usage
One of the two parking lots at Colmar Station

The land usage in Colmar is not very good at all. Unlike many other stations though, it doesn't have to be. Colmar as a whole is a transportation hub for the North Penn region. Not only does the Lansdale - Doylestown line run through it, but Bethlehem Pike, also known as Pennsylvania State Route 309 (or more colloquially just "309") does as well. Thousands upon thousands of people pass through Colmar every month. 

Because of all of this, SEPTA rebuilt the station to be a park and ride, and this strategy was pretty successful. Adding to the success of Colmar as a park and ride for the region, there were multiple morning trains that were extended from Lansdale to Link Belt so that Colmar could have more service. Most of these stopped in 2016, the rest stopping in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Despite the decrease in service, many people still use this station, with people commuting from far away towns such as Telford to the station to get to Philadelphia. 

There is TOD here, albeit not much, mostly just townhouses (I tend to call the newer houses in suburban areas that sre multiple units that are made to be similar to rowhomes townhouses) directly south of the station, and in very small amounts. 

Despite all of this, I think this station should have less parking, and that it has too much parking as is. 

Bus Connections
An intersection in Colmar

To be expected, Colmar station lacks any form of transit connections whatsoever. An express bus between this station and places like Sellersville or Perkasie vis route 309 would probably be a useful link for many, however a route like this does not exist. 

Things to do in Colmar
Colmar Post Office

There is very little to do in Colmar, as Colmar itself is a small village mainly oriented towards commuters and travelers. It's made to be passed through, a means to an end rather than a destination. To this end, Colmar has a donut shop, Wawa (across the street from the train station), clinic, post office, store, a restaurant or two, and not much else. 

Statistics

Name: Colmar
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): Lansdale - Doylestown
Locality: Colmar
City/Township: Hatfield Township, PA
County: Montgomery 
Ridership: 494 Boards, 328 Alightings, 822 total per average weekday

Amenities

Accessible: ✓
Bathrooms: ×
Clean Station: ✓
Connections to other transit routes: ×
Easy passage for each side: n/a
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ✓
Indoor Shelters: ×
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Adequate Parking: × (Do you seriously need two large parking lots worth of parking?)
Seating: ✓
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ✓
Ticket Kiosks (if applicable): ×
Ticket Offices: ×
TOD: ×
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ×
Updated Signage: ×

Final Verdict: 5/10. Colmar does it's job very well and not much else. 

 --------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
30th Street
Suburban
Jefferson (Market East)
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Wayne Junction
--------Montgomery County--------
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Melrose Park (Weekends Only)
Elkins Park (Weekends Only)
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Jenkintown - Wyncote
Glenside
North Hills
Oreland
Fort Washington
Ambler
Pennlyn
Gwynedd Valley 
''''''''Zone 4''''''''
North Wales
Pennbrook
Lansdale
9th Street
--------Bucks County--------
Chalfont
New Britain
Doylestown

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