Station Review #110: Cynwyd (SEPTA)


Cynwyd is the outbound terminus for SEPTA's Cynwyd Line. The station is located at Montgomery Avenue and Conshohocken State Road in downtown Bala-Cynwyd, PA. Bala-Cynwyd is a census designated place within Lower Merion Township, PA. The Cynwyd Line is by far the least used SEPTA Regional Rail line. Only about six trains a day run on the Cynwyd Line, weekdays only. 

Bala and Cynwyd were originally separate towns, unifying due to both sharing a post office. This is why Bala and Cynwyd both have their own train stations.

History

Cynwyd was originally a station along the Pennsylvania Railroad's Schuylkill Branch. The Schuylkill branch went parallel to Reading Railroad's Main Line. Cynwyd station was most likely originally built in 1880-1882, and then rebuilt in 1890 in a far more grand manner. 
 
In the 1970s, most of the line west of Manayunk was abandoned. The line was re-extended to Ivy Ridge, and the Cynwyd line was operated as the R6, which paired it with the line to Norristown. In 1986, the line was cut back to Cynwyd due to fears of the bridge over the Schuylkill river at Manayunk being in bad condition. SEPTA however did not want to return service past Cynwyd despite this bridge being proven to be in good condition and also fixed. Service to Ivy Ridge was dealt a death blow when the the Schuylkill Valley Metro plans were rejected by the FTA in 2005. In 2008, SEPTA gave up, and the line north of Cynwyd was turned into a rail trail.
 
Most of the original facilities at Cynwyd station have since been demolished. In 2014, the old station depot was restored, and the station was made accessible. In 2020, the Cynwyd line stopped running. It resumed service in 2021, but ridership at all stations (including Cynwyd) never fully recovered.

Tour

Old signage
Cynwyd station is a very old station. As can be seen here the lollypop sign was only changed on one end.

The station house from the stairs

The stairs down
 
The stairs down are in incredibly bad condition. Some of the stairs are slanted, others are missing small chunks. The railings are also not very useful as stairway railings. They are crooked, dented, and the wrong shape for people to actually grab it. 

The former station depot from the back
 
The old Cynwyd station depot is now a café. 

Café seating, often used by people waiting for the train

Ramp to the platform

Small garden between the platform and old depot

The crossing signal, useful despite the station only having one real platform.

Bench and ramp

The other side of the station
 
On the other side of Cynwyd station are the trail and residential connections. 

The other side of the platform

Bus Connections


Cynwyd station has two bus connections: 
 
  • 44 - Gladwyne to Center City
  • 52 - Gladwyne to 49th-Woodland
Both of these are special variants of the 44 and 52 that only run a few times a day. These both exist to replace the 122 bus, which ran between Gladwyne and Center City.
 

Points of Interest Near Cynwyd Station


There's not much near Cynwyd station. There is a commercial strip, and a park, and some very large houses, but thats about it. The most interestging thing nearby is the Cynwyd Heritage Trail, which runs in the old right of way of the Cynwyd line. The café inside of the old depot also exists as well, and is open every day except mondays.
 

Statistics


Name: Cynwyd
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): Cynwyd Line
Locality: Bala-Cynwyd
Municipality: Lower Merion Township
County: Montgomery
State: Pennsylvania
Ridership: 211 riders per average weekday (2013)
 

Amenity Checklist

Accessible: ✓ (mini high)
Bathrooms: × (in café)
Bicycle parking: ✓
Clean Station: ✓
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage for each side: ✓
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ✓
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Indoor Shelters: × (in café)
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: 3.5/10. At least Bala is otherwise a good station outside of the Cynwyd Line itself being terrible. Cynwyd just isn't.
 

Station Directory

 
--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
Suburban Station
30th Street Station
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Wynnefield Avenue
--------Montgomery County--------
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Cynwyd   
 

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