Shawmont (R6) Station

Why was Shawmont closed in the first place and will it reopen in the future?

SEPTA's usual excuse, low patronage. I think its only a stone's throw from Ivy Ridge anyway. Too bad it couldn't be kept as a flag stop. They must get a kick out of closing stations.

What I've noticed from Septa is that they waste their money too much. Yes, I know the main purpose of stops being close to one another are being able to walk to a station. It is one thing when you have stops a little under a mile from each other with high patronage. However, if the stops are literally about a half a mile and lets say, some of them barely get passengers, is a waste of money. Septa could use the money for other projects like service to Reading. Also, what I don't understand with septa is some of their lines literally terminate within or just under the limits of Philly, and you have plenty of alternate means of transit like trackless trolleys, or buses, as well as other nearby regional rail lines that go far into the burbs. For example: Cynwyd-the service on this line sucks and you have plenty of other modes of transit there. Plus, I believe you could walk to the R5 at maybe Overbrook.

jfrey40535 wrote:SEPTA's usual excuse, low patronage.

Ridership had been about 20 boards per day for years.

I think its only a stone's throw from Ivy Ridge anyway.

You've got a better arm than I do. Ivy Ridge is MP 8.2, I think, and Shawmont is 9.4.

Too bad it couldn't be kept as a flag stop.

They would still incur operating costs like snow removal and insurance costs.

They must get a kick out of closing stations.

Well you can make a case that speeding up the service by skipping the stop would attract more riders than skipping the stop would lose.

SEPTA is actually rather slow (and appropriately so) in deciding to close a station.

Shawmont is the oldest standing train station in the United States, IIRC, built in 1834.

I think my Dad told me that Shawmont closed around the time that Ivy Ridge opened.

Shawmont closed in the early-mid 90's.

Shawmont station closed in 1995 or 1996. I boarded the R6 at Shawmont a few times before it closed. I usually used Ivy Ridge instead because it has more parking and better vehicular access. When I did use Shawmont, I was always the only person there.

Shawmont closed because it was in the middle of nowhere, so there were few who could walk to the station, and had limited parking and access. If we were talking about a LRV station, this might not be a big deal, but for a commuter train, it is a big deal for schedule keeping and average speed.