Station Review #95: North Hills (SEPTA)


North Hills is a station on SEPTA's Lansdale-Doylestown Line. The station is located at North Hills Avenue in the unincorporated town of North Hills, PA, located in Abington Township. 

History

North Hills was originally named Edge Hill and established in 1855. The name Edge Hill came from Edge Hill Road, a nearby road and hill. The station had no building until 1871. The station was meant to serve the village of Edge Hill, just north of Glenside. 

In 1907, a group of golfers formed the Edge Hill County Club, which they renamed to the North Hills Country Club one year later. This country club was a destination for many of the richest people in the Philadelphia area. The village of Edge Hill started to be called North Hills for this reason. 

In 1923, the station was first renamed to North Glenside due to Glenside itself having grown northwards, and then renamed again in 1931 to North Hills. The Reading Railroad then replaced the bridge and old station building as part of an electrification and grade crossing removal project. In 2009, this bridge was rehabilitated or replaced again. 

Tour

Train at North Hills Station

North Hills is not an accessible station. It has low platforms, but at least they are the ones that are above the height of the tracks themselves. 

The depot

Door to the inside of the building 

Inside the station house

The southbound platform 

Bike racks!

Good luck getting your bike to or from this station. 

The tracks at the southbound platform

Stairs up

In order to get between the platforms, you have to use the stairs and go back up. The problem is, the stairs at this station are pretty daunting. 

The station bridge, replaced in 2009.

Passageway between the two sides of the station, coincidentally also the sidewalk

Salt on the stairs

The type of salt used by SEPTA is slippery. They may as well not use salt at all at that point. These stairs are not becoming any less daunting. 

Northbound shelter 

The northbound shelter is essentially a bus shelter. Nothing special there

Northbound parking lot

Southbound parking lot

Bus Connections

There is one bus connection at North Hills station: 

95: Gulph Mills Station to Willow Grove Mall

This bus links much of Montgomery County together. Post-bus revolution, the 95 bus is being extended to King of Prussia Mall but also cut back to Plymouth Meeting Mall. This means North Hills will lose bus service. 


Points of Interest near North Hills station

North Hills doesn't have much in it. There are a couple of stores and restaurants, houses and a park, as well as a country club. The community of North Hills seems to be more of a residential one than anything else. 

Statistics


Name: North Hills
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): Lansdale-Doylestown 
Locality: North Hills
Municipality: Abington Township
County: Montgomery 
State: Pennsylvania 
Ridership: 406 per average weekday (2017)

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: ×
TVMs: ×
Ticket Offices: ×
TOD: ×
Train Departure/Arrival Info (countdown clocks): ×
Updated/Useful Signage: ✓

Final Verdict: 3/10
 

Station Directory

--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
30th Street
Suburban
Jefferson (Market East)
Temple University
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
North Broad
Wayne Junction (Weekdays Only)
Fern Rock Transportation Center (Weekdays Only)
--------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
Fortuna
Colmar
Link Belt
--------Bucks County--------
Chalfont
New Britain
Delaware Valley University
Doylestown


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