Station Review #61: Manayunk (SEPTA)


Manayunk is a station on SEPTA's Manayunk-Norristown line, located at Cresson and Carson streets in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia.

History

One of the older variants of Manayunk station

Manayunk has a very storied history as a train station. The first Manayunk station was built in 1834 by the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Railroad. A few decades later, the Pennsylvania Railroad built a branch to Ivy Ridge, and a new station in Manayunk, called "East Manayunk". That station was open as late as May 1986, but with the Ivy Ridge branch being sent back to Cynwyd, this was closed. The remaining Manayunk station is the one that was owned by the Reading Railroad, which proceeded the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Railroad. 

Over the years, there were multiple incarnations of Manayunk station, four to be exact. This current station is the one that has stuck since 1930, when the station pictured above was demolished to grade separate the railway, as it originally street-running along Cresson street. 

In 1993, Manayunk station became part of the Manayunk Main Street Historic district. 

Tour

Manayunk station has no high platforms. There are also no elevators or ramps or anything of the sort. Thus, Manayunk station is completely inaccessible. 

Outbound platform

Rest of outbound platform

Old outbound station house, now a restaurant 

ADA unfriendly ramp to station

Underneath the station itself

The inbound platform waiting room

The inbound platform itself. 

The stairs to the station itself, covered in trash
Sign outside for the station 

The inside of the station building barely exists, its a very small room, about 6 square meters at most. In that room, there are two green benches and nothing else. There is no accessible bathroom there, and it basically only exists as a place to talk to the attendant and buy tickets. 

Transit Connections

Manayunk station has three bus connections: 

Route 35: This bus makes a loop around the neighborhood of Ivy Ridge, linking it to Roxborough, Manayunk, and Wissahickon, especially Wissahickon Transportation Center. This bus is useful for getting over the hills in this region of the city. Unfortunately, the route is also incredibly infrequent, running once every 45 minutes, from 6 am to 6 pm, with a few trips having an hour long gap in between instead of a 45 minute long gap. The 35 bus is famously unreliable and oftentimes will not stop for you unless you are along a few particular parts of the route. Unsurprisingly, this route is going away with the Bus Revolution. 



Route 61: This bus links Manayunk with the Market-Frankford Line (L) and PATCO, though is mainly used as a local bus that goes along Ridge Avenue, south of Wissahickon Transit Center. The northern terminus of the 61 is the Container Loop on Venice Island, which is a part of Manayunk. The southern terminus is 8th and Walnut, immediately south of 8th and Market station. The 61 also links Manayunk with the BSL (B1 & B3) at Fairmount station. The 61 runs with a frequency of about one bus every 30 minutes



Route 62: This bus goes from 8th and Market station to Manayunk and Andorra via I-76, essentially acting as an express version of the 61, except instead of ending at Container loop, the 62 ends in Andorra. Unfortunately, the 62 runs eight trips a day.



Points of Interest in Manayunk

Manayunk has a lot of points of interest, and this is unsurprising considering that it's basically Philadelphia's equivalent of somewhere like Media or Ambler, or Doylestown. These points of interest include: 

Restaurants:  There's a lot of these, too many to list in all honesty. 

The Manayunk Bridge Trail: These are the remains of the old Cynwyd Line, and is where the image above was taken. The views from it of Manayunk are beautiful. 

Pretzel Park: A small park that is pretty nice.

Schuylkill River Trail: This is a trail that extends from Frackville, PA to Philadelphia, along the Schuylkill river. 

Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center: A non-profit theatre and arts space. The Delaware Valley Opera is headquartered here. It's a little bit of a walk from the train station but definitely worth it. 

Soft Illusions Fine Arts Gallery: There us very pretty art here. 

General sightseeing: Simple enough, there's a lot to see just by walking around. 

Unfortunately, Manayunk also has an issue with racist microaggressions, something to keep in mind if you're a person of color like I am. This is not surprising considering the proximity to the main line, which is even worse for that, and the rate at which gentrification has taken hold in Manayunk. 

Statistics:

Name: Manayunk
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): Manayunk-Norristown Line 
Locality: Manayunk 
City/Township: Philadelphia 
County: Philadelphia 
State: Pennsylvania 
Ridership:  1290 per average weekday

Amenity Checklist:

Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ×
Bicycle parking: ×
Clean Station: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage for each side: ×
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ✓
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Indoor Shelters: ✓
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Adequate Parking: ✓
Seating: ✓
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ×
Ticket Kiosks (if applicable): 
Ticket Offices: ✓
TOD: ✓
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ×
Updated/Useful Signage: ✓

Final Verdict: 3/10

Station Directory


--------Philadelphia County--------

''''''''Center City Zone''''''''

Penn Medicine

30th Street

Suburban

Jefferson (Market East)

Temple University 

''''''''Zone 1''''''''

North Broad

Allegheny (MNL) 

East Falls

''''''''Zone 2''''''''

Wissahickon

Manayunk

Ivy Ridge

--------Montgomery County--------

Miquon

''''''''Zone 3''''''''

Spring Mill

Conshohocken

Norristown Transportation Center

Norristown Main Street

Norristown Elm Street


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