SEPTA Wayne Junction Station, Philadelphia, PA

Balancing historic elements with modern and safe access, the rehabilitated Wayne Junction Station is stimulating development in the surrounding Germantown and Nicetown neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Urban led the design team and provided construction documents and cost estimates for this major project.

SEPTA’s $18 million reconstruction of historic Wayne Junction Station — a transportation hub in Philadelphia’s Nicetown and Germantown neighborhoods that had fallen into disrepair — is already having a positive impact in the area.

The modernization of the Wayne Junction Rail Station makes it more inviting for people to take the train, and that will make these neighborhoods, and others throughout metro Philadelphia, more livable and more sustainable.

 - Therese McMillan, FTA Acting Administrator

The project entailed restoring the vintage station; replacing canopies; refurbishing the headhouse, platforms, passenger tunnels, and stairways; and installing elevators, pedestrian bridges, and other amenities to make the station ADA compliant. New high-level platforms were also constructed and service on the R7 Chestunt Hill East Line was consolidated onto one track to improve safety.

The Challenge : Preservation and Modernization

Designing modern amenities while preserving the historic character of this station was the main goal. The challenge was phasing work to maintain service on regional lines– the station serves more than 190,000 annual riders – and providing SEPTA-compliant site access to contractors. Service interruptions were only available on nights and weekends, further limiting site access. In addition, materials had to be managed at a yard outside of SEPTA property.

• Historic preservation
• Renovations completed in an active high-traffic railroad station
• Difficult site access, limited service interruptions, and strict safety regulations posed design challenges

A Context Sensitive Innovation 

Creating a design that would modernize Wayne Junction while preserving its historic character was a challenge that Urban met through careful planning and community engagement. State Historic Preservation Office policies governed our designs for the station, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  We also developed detailed contractor-type construction cost estimates at each stage of design. These estimates included analysis of a variety of design schemes for platform construction, historical restoration, and ADA-access scenarios.

What’s really remarkable about seeing a space like this come back to life in a low-income neighborhood with a high poverty rate, is that it is a sign of respect. The people who live and work here, and are using public transit to get where they need to go, are being acknowledged in a different light.

- Emaleigh Doley, Commercial Corridor Manager at Germantown United CDC

Award-Winning Station Serves as Economic Catalyst 

Wayne Junction Station Receives the 2015 Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia

With the success of this complex project, larger efforts to revitalize surrounding neighborhoods are gaining momentum. New mixed-use housing developments, visible from the station’s platform, were spurred by the project. More importantly, surrounding low-income neighborhoods now have a safe, accessible, and inviting gateway. 

This transit-centered station helped to catalyze the economic development you see across the street and down the street.”

- Majeddah Rashid, Executive Director of the Nicetown CDC