The Media/Elwyn Line Is Shutting Down for 3 Months

With the support piers for the new span nearing completion, the Crum Creek Viaduct will be dismantled and replaced starting June 18th. | Photo courtesy of SEPTA

“No pain, no gain.” This summer, Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line passengers will have to endure a little pain in order for SEPTA to finally get rid of the poster child for its maintenance and repair backlog, the 121-year-old Crum Creek Viaduct in Delaware County.

Work on the new bridge, which will sit in the same spot as the span it’s replacing, has been progressing for the last year. Now that the support piers are in place, it’s time for the actual spans to be installed. That will require an 11-week suspension of rail service beyond Swarthmore beginning on Saturday, June 18th, and ending Monday, September 5th.

Passengers who board the line at the stations beyond Swarthmore — Wallingford, Moylan-Rose Valley, Media and Elwyn — will have to catch shuttle buses at their stations and ride to Swarthmore, where trains will complete the journey into Center City. The process will reverse outbound, with riders boarding shuttle buses to their ultimate destinations at Swarthmore.

SEPTA is holding a series of open houses at the five affected stations next week to give residents and riders an overview of the project, details on the service interruption, and information on shuttle bus services. Interested parties can also ask questions and raise concerns with members of the SEPTA project team.

All of the open houses will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dates and locations for the open houses are:

Monday, May 16th: Elwyn Station, 149 Elwyn Rd., Middletown Township
Tuesday, May 17th: Media Station, 309 Media Station Rd., Upper Providence Township
Wednesday, May 18th: Swarthmore Station, Park Avenue and Chester Road, Swarthmore
Thursday, May 19th: Wallingford Station, 141 E. Possum Hollow Rd. (at Kershaw Avenue), Wallingford
Friday, May 20th: Moylan-Rose Valley Station, 4 Manchester Rd., Rose Valley

The new Crum Creek Viaduct will be the third railroad bridge to occupy this site. The bridge that’s being replaced was built in 1895 to replace an earlier bridge whose stone piers still stand today. The 915-foot span rises more than 100 feet above the creek.

More information on the replacement project is available here.

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