Station Review #80: Hatboro (SEPTA)


Hatboro is the second to last station on SEPTA's Warminister Line, and the last station within Montgomery county. The station is located on Penn Street between Byberry Road and Moreland Avenue in the borough of Hatboro, PA. 

History

Hatboro was originally built by the North Pennsylvania Railroad, on its North East Pennsylvania Railroad branch, which went as far as Hartsville, PA (now Ivyland, PA, notably not in Northeastern Pennsylvania). The old Hatboro station (not pictured above) was built and put into service in 1871. In 1879, the entire line transferred ownership to the Reading Railroad. The line then changed names to the New Hope Branch and was subsequently extended as far as New Hope. 

In 1931, the line was electrified between Glenside and Hatboro. Hatboro suddenly had extra service in the form of "doodlebug" trains, an example shown above. To mark the sudden newfound importance of Hatboro station, the old station building was demolished and replaced with the station building that's currently at the station in 1935. In 1952, all service past Hatboro station was discontinued, only for that to be re-extended in the early 1970s to Warminster. 

Gallery

Hatboro station from the outside

The main amenities at the station

Hatboro station and its canopy from the platform

Hatboro is generally not accessible, but its better off than most innaccessible stations on SEPTA. The reason for this is because Hatboro has tactile strips, something the vast majority of innaccessible stations don't have. This is the absolute bare minimum. 

More platform

There is absolutely no reason for Hatboro to not have a mini-high at the very least. 

The grade crossing at Byberry Road

Inside the station

The station depot's interior is absolutely beautiful. It honestly might be one of the prettiest ones in the entire system. 

Train! 

And here, Silverliner IV train car #414 is the end car for a Warminister Line train en route to Warminister. The train was leaving as this was taken. 

Not pictured, but there's also an extra parking lot for even more parking. While the main parking lot at the station tends to be full, I'm not convinced that the auxiliary parking lot needed to be as large as it was made to be. 


Bus Connections

There is an indirect bus connection with the 22, which runs along York Road between Warminister Heights and Willow Grove, before switching to Easton Road and heading through Abington and Cheltenham townships to Olney Transportation Center. The reason it's mentioned to be indirect is because there is an old bus stop next to the station for the 22. The 22 used to deviate into the station, but this deviation has since been removed. 

Points of Interest in Hatboro

Much unlike many other places, there's actually a lot to see in Hatboro. There are way too many restaurants and stores to just list each one. If any are notable, I'd mention Daddypop'e diner, which is in an original diner building. There's also the Union Library, the third oldest library in Pennsylvania. There's also two parks nearby, station park and miller meadow. 

In terms of general transit-oriented development, Hatboro does have quite a bit of that too. There are six different apartment developments near the station. Of those developments, two are taller than six floors. This is definitely a sufficient amount of TOD. I would even dare to say enough to warrant a service increase to the station. 

Statistics


Name: Hatboro
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): Warminister 
Locality: Hatboro
City/Township: Hatboro
County: Montgomery 
State: PA
Ridership: 1030 per average weekday (2017)

Amenity Checklist


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

Final Verdict: 4/10


Station Directory

--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
30th Street
Suburban
Jefferson (Market East)
Temple University
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Wayne Junction
Fern Rock Transportation Center
--------Montgomery County--------
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Melrose Park
Elkins Park
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Jenkintown - Wyncote
Glenside
Ardsley
Roslyn
Crestmont
Willow Grove
Hatboro
--------Bucks County--------
Warminster

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