The Daily Local News followed their Thursday front page story on upgrading Parkesburg train station with an editorial this morning noting the need for a better train stop in western Chester County and encouraging those participating in the discussion about where to place the new station to find an appropriate solution.
The money quote:
We hope that all those involved will keep up the good work to determine the best way to attract more riders to the train line.
Here's the editorial in full:
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Parkesburg's push for new or updated station worthwhile
Daily Local News Editorial
Amtrak
service allows people who live in western Chester County or eastern
Lancaster County to work in Philadelphia or Harrisburg (or to spend a
vacation weekend in New York City) without putting miles on their cars
and carbon monoxide in the air by driving to those locations.
And there are more than a few people who do just that. According to Amtrak figures, almost 50,000 riders annually use the Parkesburg station to get on one of the railroad system's trains — a number quite comparable with the popular Downingtown train station. But how many more riders would avail themselves of the service if there was a better appointed, and better located, train station in Parkesburg?
That's a partial question that a number of groups have tried to answer over the past several months, leading to meetings last month which asked residents and riders what they thought of the station and its future. Should it stay where it has been for decades at West First and South Culvert streets or should a new station be built behind the Parkesburg Borough building, or someplace in between?
What the community wants is a station that would project "a more welcoming environment," said Jim Thomas, Parkesburg borough manager, with better lighting, better parking and a better track crossover, Thomas said. Location is a big issue, too.
Parkesburg is a stop on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor Service route and falls between the stops in Lancaster and Coatesville, another station studying its options.
Parkesburg has a respectable ridership volume of 48,784 annually. The Downingtown Train Station has 59,129 Amtrak riders while Coatesville has 14,382 Amtrak riders. The busiest Amtrak stop in Chester County is Paoli with 153,154 Amtrak riders. According to Amtrak's website, the number of passengers using the Keystone Corridor service has increased by approximately 80 percent over the past four years.
"This is the last train station in Chester County next to Lancaster County," Thomas said. "For western Chester County and eastern Lancaster County, this is the transportation hub. It has easy access to routes 41, 30, 10 and 372."
But the issue of relocating the train station is problematic. The Parkesburg one-story train station (south side of the tracks) is very old and owned by Amtrak. Because it is owned by the railroad company, "the borough can't use it," Thomas said. "It's under a very restrictive contract." If the borough bought it from Amtrak, then it could become a museum or visitors' center, Thomas added.
All of those considerations, however, are pretty far down the track.
"This is a project we really want to do," Thomas said about the station upgrades or relocation. "We want to get it done for safety's sake for everybody."
And there are more than a few people who do just that. According to Amtrak figures, almost 50,000 riders annually use the Parkesburg station to get on one of the railroad system's trains — a number quite comparable with the popular Downingtown train station. But how many more riders would avail themselves of the service if there was a better appointed, and better located, train station in Parkesburg?
That's a partial question that a number of groups have tried to answer over the past several months, leading to meetings last month which asked residents and riders what they thought of the station and its future. Should it stay where it has been for decades at West First and South Culvert streets or should a new station be built behind the Parkesburg Borough building, or someplace in between?
What the community wants is a station that would project "a more welcoming environment," said Jim Thomas, Parkesburg borough manager, with better lighting, better parking and a better track crossover, Thomas said. Location is a big issue, too.
Parkesburg is a stop on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor Service route and falls between the stops in Lancaster and Coatesville, another station studying its options.
Parkesburg has a respectable ridership volume of 48,784 annually. The Downingtown Train Station has 59,129 Amtrak riders while Coatesville has 14,382 Amtrak riders. The busiest Amtrak stop in Chester County is Paoli with 153,154 Amtrak riders. According to Amtrak's website, the number of passengers using the Keystone Corridor service has increased by approximately 80 percent over the past four years.
"This is the last train station in Chester County next to Lancaster County," Thomas said. "For western Chester County and eastern Lancaster County, this is the transportation hub. It has easy access to routes 41, 30, 10 and 372."
But the issue of relocating the train station is problematic. The Parkesburg one-story train station (south side of the tracks) is very old and owned by Amtrak. Because it is owned by the railroad company, "the borough can't use it," Thomas said. "It's under a very restrictive contract." If the borough bought it from Amtrak, then it could become a museum or visitors' center, Thomas added.
All of those considerations, however, are pretty far down the track.
"This is a project we really want to do," Thomas said about the station upgrades or relocation. "We want to get it done for safety's sake for everybody."
We hope that all those involved will keep up the good work to determine the best way to attract more riders to the train line.
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