Thorndale station is a

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...

station in

Thorndale, Pennsylvania Thorndale is a census-designated place in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,407 at the 2010 census. Thorndale is the commercial and administrative center of Caln Township. The community's main street is U.S. Rou ...

. Located on South Bailey Road and East Lincoln Highway ( U.S. 30 Business), it serves the

Paoli/Thorndale Line The Paoli/Thorndale Line, or R5 commonly known as the Main Line, is a SEPTA Regional Rail service running from Center City Philadelphia through Montgomery County and Delaware County to Thorndale in Chester County. It operates along the far east ...

. While Thorndale station is the terminus of SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line service, the tracks continue (with service by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

), to points west, including

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and beyond. Amtrak does not stop at Thorndale. This station is 35.2 track miles from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Suburban Station Suburban Station is an art deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center, Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the three ...

. In 2017, the average total weekday boardings at this station was 427, and the average total weekday alightings was 374.

History

The R5 line (now Paoli/Thorndale Line) originally ended further west in Parkesburg, but service was cut back to Downingtown in 1996. Thorndale station opened on November 22, 1999 as an extension of the R5 service from Downingtown. The station was built to serve the rapidly growing population of Chester County and reduce congestion on area roads.

Station layout

There is no ticket office at this station. There are 447 parking spaces at the station for daily parking as well as SEPTA permit parking. The station is equipped with bathroom facilities, however, they are locked and only for the use of train crews. This station is wheelchair-accessible. There is a low level platform with a short high level section for accessibility on one side and a fully high level platform on the other. The platforms have bridge plates which allow a wheelchair to cross the gap between the platform and the train when it is stopped at the platform. As a result of Thorndale being the line's terminus, trains terminate and depart from both platforms.

Services

In SEPTA's current weekday schedule, 13 trains depart from Thorndale and 11 trains arrive. On Saturdays, 5 trains depart from Thorndale and 4 trains arrive. All of SEPTA's trains terminate at Malvern on Sundays and therefore don't serve Thorndale among other stations not served on Sundays. Due to Thorndale being the final stop of the line, trains are often forced to crossover to the platform on the other side of the tracks. Trains at and near Thorndale also spend a significant amount of time waiting for other trains to pass.

References

External links

SEPTA - Thorndale Station

Bailey Road entrance from Google Maps Street View

Lincoln Highway entrance from Google Maps Street View
SEPTA Regional Rail stations Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line Railway stations in Chester County, Pennsylvania Railway stations in the United States opened in 1999 {{SEPTA Regional Rail stations, state=collapsed