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Ardmore, PA
Amtrak and SEPTA station
The low-level platform at the renovated Ardmore station in April 2022.
General information
Location	39 Station Avenue Ardmore, Pennsylvania United States
Coordinates	40°00′30″N 75°17′25″W / 40.0083°N 75.2903°W / 40.0083; -75.2903
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Amtrak Keystone Corridor (Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	SEPTA City Bus: 44 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 103, 105, 106
Construction
Parking	196 spaces (109 permit, 87 public daily)
Bicycle facilities	3 racks (12 spaces)
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: ARD
Fare zone	2 (SEPTA)
History
Opened	1870
Rebuilt	1957
Electrified	September 11, 1915
Passengers
FY 2023	57,449 annually (Amtrak)
2017	821 boardings, 749 alightings (weekday average) (SEPTA)
Rank	22 of 146 (SEPTA)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Paolitoward Harrisburg Keystone Service Philadelphiatoward New York      Pennsylvanian does not stop here Preceding station SEPTA Following station Haverfordtoward Thorndale Paoli/​Thorndale Line Wynnewoodtoward Temple University
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Bryn Mawrtoward Harrisburg Keystone ServiceBefore 1988 Narberthtoward Philadelphia–Suburban Paolitoward Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian Philadelphiatoward New York Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Haverfordtoward Chicago Main Line Narberthtoward New York or Exchange Place Haverfordtoward Paoli Paoli Line Wynnewoodtoward Suburban Station
Location

Ardmore station is a train station in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, located on the Pennsylvania Main Line. The station serves several Amtrak Keystone Service trains daily, as well as all SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line local regional rail trains. The station is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from Suburban Station in Center City Philadelphia, and travel time to Suburban Station is 22 minutes on SEPTA local trains.

The station is situated in the Suburban Square shopping area amidst a large residential population and sees its fair share of reverse commuters.

In 2017, the average total weekday SEPTA boardings at this station was 821, and the average total weekday SEPTA alightings was 749.

History

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2022)

Original station

The original station at Ardmore was designed by the firm of Wilson Brothers and Company of Philadelphia as a two-story stone structure with a slate roof.

The walls were built of gneiss stone laid irregularly with sandstone lintels. It had a daylight basement by virtue of the land sloping to the rear, which served as housing for the agent, containing a bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and living room. The ground floor waiting room measured 20x35 feet, a ladies' room measuring 14x18 feet, a gentleman's smoking room 11x12 feet, a baggage room 8x12 feet, a telegraph office and ticket office of 9x18 feet, and a bedroom. The second story had three bedrooms and the signal tower.

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad operated commuter rail services at Ardmore until merging with the New York Central in 1968 becoming the Penn Central which then filed for bankruptcy in 1970. Conrail was then responsible for operating all the former PRR commuter rail services including over the Main Line to Paoli/Thorndale Line until 1983 when SEPTA took over all regional rail operations in South Eastern Pennsylvania.

Transit-oriented development

Lower Merion Township has considered plans to replace the station as part of a larger economic revitalization "transit oriented development" (TOD) project for the neighborhood. Parts of the plan, however, relied on using eminent domain to force the purchase of private property, which would then be transferred to a private developer. For this reason, it met significant opposition among some members of community.

In 2008 the plan of developer Dranoff Properties for the TOD project was accepted and the Philadelphia-based company was named to develop a $180 million mixed use project for the station area with ground breaking anticipated in 2012. In August, 2010, the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program of the State of Pennsylvania made a $9 million grant to the project following an earlier $6 million grant made in 2008.

Future

While Ardmore is the busiest station on the line, it is currently very underdeveloped, consisting of only low-level platforms and small canopies. However, the station is currently undergoing a major upgrade, that will bring high-level platforms, a full canopy, footbridge, and covered parking deck. The project started in January 2022 and is expected to take around 18 months to complete.

Station layout

An Amtrak QuikTrak machine is available in the station. SEPTA permit parking is available at the station, and the township provides additional metered parking in nearby lots. The station has two low-level side platforms with pathways connecting the platforms to the inner tracks.

References

1. "Transportation Planning for the Philadelphia–Harrisburg "Keystone" Railroad Corridor" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
2. Existing Stations in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
3. "Electric Service Begins on the P.R.R." The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 12, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
5. "Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update". SEPTA. June 2020. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
6. "Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. pp. 43–46.
7. ^ Berg, Walter G. (1893). Buildings and Structures of American Railroads. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 315–316.
8. Why the fuss about this block?, The Save Ardmore Coalition, retrieved 19 Feb 2008
9. "Can Do Carl" Archived 2015-07-02 at the Wayback Machine MainLine Today. February, 2009
10. "Ardmore Station" (The Ardmore Transit Oriented Development Project) ArdmoreStation.com
11. "Pennsylvania invests $9M more into Dranoff’s Ardmore Station project" Philadelphia Business Journal, August 9, 2010
12. "Work On Ardmore SEPTA Station To Last 18 Months". Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood, PA Patch. January 10, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
13. Laughlin, Jason (June 28, 2019). "SEPTA commits $34 million to build new Ardmore train station". The Inquirer. Retrieved August 23, 2022.

External links

• Media related to Ardmore (SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Ardmore, PA – Amtrak
• Ardmore, PA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• SEPTA – Ardmore station
• Ardmore Amtrak & SEPTA Station (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)

v t e SEPTA Regional Rail stations
Airport	Terminals E & F Terminals C & D Terminal B Terminal A Eastwick Penn Medicine 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University
Chestnut Hill East	Chestnut Hill East Gravers Wyndmoor Mount Airy Sedgwick Stenton Washington Lane Germantown Wister Wayne Junction Temple University Jefferson Suburban 30th Street
Chestnut Hill West	Chestnut Hill West Highland St. Martins Richard Allen Lane Carpenter Upsal Tulpehocken Chelten Avenue Queen Lane North Philadelphia 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University
Cynwyd	Cynwyd Bala Wynnefield Avenue 30th Street Suburban
Fox Chase	Fox Chase Cheltenham Lawndale Olney Wayne Junction Temple University Jefferson Suburban 30th Street
Lansdale/Doylestown	Doylestown Delaware Valley University New Britain Chalfont Link Belt Colmar Fortuna 9th Street Lansdale Pennbrook North Wales Gwynedd Valley Penllyn Ambler Fort Washington Oreland North Hills Glenside Jenkintown–Wyncote Elkins Park Melrose Park Fern Rock Wayne Junction North Broad Temple University Jefferson Suburban 30th Street
Manayunk/Norristown	Elm Street Main Street Norristown Conshohocken Spring Mill Miquon Ivy Ridge Manayunk Wissahickon East Falls Allegheny North Broad Temple University Jefferson Suburban 30th Street Penn Medicine
Media/Wawa	Wawa Elwyn Media Moylan–Rose Valley Wallingford Swarthmore Morton Secane Primos Clifton–Aldan Gladstone Lansdowne Fernwood–Yeadon Angora 49th Street Penn Medicine 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University
Paoli/Thorndale	Thorndale Downingtown Whitford Exton Malvern Paoli Daylesford Berwyn Devon Strafford Wayne St. Davids Radnor Villanova Rosemont Bryn Mawr Haverford Ardmore Wynnewood Narberth Merion Overbrook 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University
Trenton	Trenton Levittown Bristol Croydon Eddington Cornwells Heights Torresdale Holmesburg Junction Tacony Bridesburg North Philadelphia 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University
Warminster	Warminster Hatboro Willow Grove Crestmont Roslyn Ardsley Glenside Jenkintown–Wyncote Elkins Park Melrose Park Fern Rock Wayne Junction North Broad Temple University Jefferson Suburban 30th Street Penn Medicine
West Trenton	West Trenton Yardley Woodbourne Langhorne Neshaminy Falls Trevose Somerton Forest Hills Philmont Bethayres Meadowbrook Rydal Noble Jenkintown–Wyncote Elkins Park Melrose Park Fern Rock Wayne Junction Temple University Jefferson Suburban 30th Street Penn Medicine
Wilmington/Newark	Newark Churchmans Crossing Wilmington Claymont Marcus Hook Highland Avenue Chester Eddystone Crum Lynne Ridley Park Prospect Park Norwood Glenolden Folcroft Sharon Hill Curtis Park Darby Penn Medicine 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University
Former stations	52nd Street Allentown Andalusia Auburn Baldwin Barmouth Belle Mead Bethlehem Birdsboro Bound Brook Bryn Athyn Center Valley Cheyney Churchville Coatesville Columbia Avenue County Line Crescentville Darlington DeKalb Street Fellwick Fishers Frankford Junction Franklin Street Fulmor George School Glen Mills Glen Riddle Hamburg Hellertown Holland Hopewell Huntingdon Valley Ivy Rock Lamokin Street Leesport Lenni Locksley Logan Manayunk West Mohrsville Mogees Newark Penn Newtown Nicetown Parkesburg Phoenixville Pottstown Pottsville Quakertown Reading Terminal Royersford Schuylkill Haven Shawmont Shoemakersville Southampton Spring Garden Street Tioga Valley Forge Walnut Hill West Chester West Chester University Westmoreland Westtown Williamson School Wissinoming

• SEPTA Regional Rail stations
• Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations
• Amtrak stations in Pennsylvania
• Stations on the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line
• Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
• Railway stations in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1870