Station Review #118: Wallingford (SEPTA)

Wallingford is a station on SEPTA's Media-Wawa line. The station is located at Possom Hollow and Kershaw Roads in Wallingford, PA. Wallingford is an unincorporated town within Nether Providence Township, PA. 

History

Wallingford was established sometime in the 1700s, originally as a farming community along the Great Providence Road. 

This station was originally built in 1854 or so on the Media extension of the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad, which was later subsumed into the Pennsylvania Railroad. The first station was along a siding. This station caused an influx of money to come into the area, and for Nether Providence Township to become a getaway community for the rich. 

The station building we have now was built during that era, in 1890. No, the station was not designed by Frank Furness. Part of Wallingford station was also the post office. On May 13th, 1969, the new post office was opened, and Wallingford station's waiting room went back to being just that. 

On February 2nd, 2024, the ticket office at Wallingford closed. However, the waiting room inside the depot is still accessible to Key Card holders between 5 AM and 12:30 PM. 

Tour


Main station building

Wallingford is fairly similar to a lot of the other former PRR stations west of 30th street. Many in wealthier areas had fancier station depot buildings, and Wallingford is no exception. 

Crossing light

Inside the station building 

The station building from the side

Twin parking lots

Wallingford has a lot of parking. I don't see how all of it is needed. 

The westbound shelter

B e n c h

A path to some houses

Bus Connections

Yes that's a bus stop

There is one connection to Wallingford station: 

  • 118 - Newtown Square to Chester Transportation Center: This bus is a crosstown route that mostly goes along State Route 252, connecting Chester, Brookhaven, Wallingford, Media, and Newtown Square. This bus has very poorly timed trips, with the trips in both directions running within four minutes of eachother, while both are running once an hour. 

Points of Interest near Wallingford

Helen Kate Furness Free Library

Wallingford is an actual town next to the station. There's not much there. The Helen Kate Furness Library is pretty cool though. 

Downtown Wallingford 

The village of Wallingford itself is a lot less hostile to pedestrians than I was expecting of it, not that that means much here. The village as a whole has a WalkScore of 25 to 38 (with the village center having a score of 32), which is very low, but when you're expecting zero then that's a victory worth acknowledging at the very least. There are asphalt paths, which is better than having absolutely nothing and can easily be upgraded into actual sidewalks.

There are a lot of basic things youd expect from a village here: An animal hospital and veterinary service, a convenience store, post office, laundromat, apartment complex, an elementary, middle, and high school, dentist office, former town hall of some form, church, park, rehab center, etc. Despite this, the village itself seems fairly disorganized. One can clearly tell its the largest settlement in Nether Providence Township. 

Wallingford is not a place for tourism, if you want to do tourism nearby Media exists for that. Wallingford itself is directly connected to Media, but despite that still feels like a distinct place all its own, much unlike the towns the stations of Moylan-Rose Valley and Media are in (both of which are not within the borough of Media.) 

Statistics


Name: Wallingford 
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): Media-Wawa
Locality: Wallingford 
Municipality: Nether Providence Township 
County: Delaware
State: Pennsylvania 
Ridership: 567 per average weekday (2017)

Amenity Checklist


Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ✓
Bicycle parking: ✓
Clean Station: ✓
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage for each side: ✓
Existence is justifiable: ✓
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ✓
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Indoor Shelters: ✓
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Adequate Parking: ×
Safe to use: ×
Seating: ✓
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ✓
TVMs: ×
Ticket Offices: ×
TOD: ✓
Train Departure/Arrival Info (countdown clocks): × (I don't think so? if there is it's in the depot building) 
Updated/Useful Signage: ✓ 

Final Verdict: 3.5/10. 


Station DIrectory

--------Philadelphia County--------
''''''''Center City Zone''''''''
Jefferson (Market East)
Suburban
30th Street
Penn Medicine
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
--------Delaware County--------
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Fernwood - Yeadon
Lansdowne
Gladstone
Clifton - Aldan
Primos 
Secane
Morton
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Swarthmore
Wallingford
Moylan - Rose Valley
Media
Elwyn
Wawa

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