Transit updates from SEPTA, GCRTA and SacRT

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has awarded a long-term lease contract to the city of Philadelphia for SEPTA's Shawmont Station along the Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail Line. Recognized as the oldest passenger-rail station in the county, Shawmont was built in the 1820s and has been closed to the public since 1991. The lease will save SEPTA nearly $1 million in improvements costs by eliminating the agency's maintenance obligations, said SEPTA board chair Kenneth Lawrence Jr. in a press release. Under the agreement, the city will pay SEPTA $1 per year for 20 years with a five-year renewal option and will be responsible for all restoration costs, estimated at $972,000. The city intends to sublease the property to the Historic Shawmont Station Society for use as a museum, SEPTA officials said.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) has been awarded $620,000 through the Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership Program to modernize light-rail signage and implement raised boarding platforms along two bus corridors. The state grant, announced by the Ohio Department of Transportation, will improve daily commutes for thousands of Northeast Ohio riders, GCRTA officials said in a press release. The authority will install high-visibility digital transit signage along its light-rail network; the new signs will display real-time schedule information, track-level wayfinding and service alerts to workers and daily transit users.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) opened its new Dos Rios light-rail station to passengers yesterday, following regulatory approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. Located on SacTR's Blue Line along North 12th Street between Richards Boulevard and Sunbeam Avenue, the new station provides transit access for Sacramento's growing River District, SacRT officials said in a press release. Blue Line trains will stop at the station seven days a week, every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during off-peak hours. Construction on the station began in November 2024, and the $42.8 million project was completed four months ahead of schedule. It is SacRT's 54th light-rail station; the new 7th & Railyards Station on the Green Line is slated to open in October.