Safety Improvements Coming to DELCO

April 11, 2022

To meet urgent needs across Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey requested funding for projects in communities to be included in the FY2022 funding agreement. Since entering Congress, Senator Casey has been a strong advocate for investing federal funds to update the Commonwealth's aging infrastructure and broadening access to affordable housing. To that end, Senator Casey supported over $22.5 million in federal funding for numerous community projects dedicated to bridge rehabilitation, road repairs, airport improvements, affordable housing programs and other initiatives. Earlier today (April 11, 2022), Delaware County was a recipient - receiving $1,000,000 in project funding to support work to make a rail crossing safer in Darby Township.

We want to thank Senator Casey and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon for securing this important funding to upgrade this grade crossing and improve safety for all who travel through this community.

Nearly 300 Route 11 and Route 13 Trolleys pass through this crossing every day, and the confluence of vehicular traffic, pedestrians, freight trains and SEPTA Trolleys makes this one of the more challenging crossings on the SEPTA Trolley network.

Four months ago, almost to the day, many of us were here following the near tragic accident between a SEPTA Trolley and a CSX train.  Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but it highlights the importance of grade crossing safety.

The grade crossing improvements that this funding will make possible will result in safer travel for SEPTA customers and operators, and we look forward to working with PennDOT, Delaware County, Darby Borough and CSX to implement these safety upgrades.

Grade crossing safety is a critical component of SEPTA’s capital program.

Last year, SEPTA was awarded $3.3 million in federal funds for a series of improvements to 20 grade crossings across our Regional Rail network.

Later this week, we will be submitting an application for funding to upgrade another 20 Regional Rail grade crossings, including the installation of four-quadrant gates at four crossings on the Media/Elwyn Line in Delaware County.

And following the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill last November, the SEPTA Board recently amended its FY 2022 Capital Budget to begin to put those funds to use for our customers and the communities we serve.

We added $4 million to our regionwide grade crossing improvement program, bringing our total grade crossing investment to $5 million this year.

Thanks to the efforts of Senator Casey, Congresswoman Scanlon and the members of the southeast Pennsylvania Congressional delegation, we are able to invest in crossing improvements like at no other time in our history.