The $90 million Claymont Transportation Center that opened less than two years ago could soon become an expensive bus station if a commuter rail line linking Philadelphia with Delaware is eliminated.
The state-of-the-art station, which was touted as an “important gateway” to Delaware when it opened, could be downgraded next year if Pennsylvania lawmakers approve a budget proposal released last week by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the regional rail line that serves millions of riders a year throughout Philadelphia and its suburbs.
In the proposal, SEPTA called for cutting nearly half of its services because of a funding crisis that, it said, emerged as inflation increased and COVID era dollars dried up. Five regional rail lines, including the Wilmington/Newark route, would be axed on Jan. 1, 2026, under the proposal, unless Pennsylvania lawmakers pass legislation to provide more dollars to the agency.
The Wilmington/Newark line cut would force about 2,250 daily weekday riders to find alternative means of transportation into or out of the First State, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation.
A cut to the Wilmington/Newark route would also end train service in Claymont and Churchman’s Crossing. Amtrak trains would still operate at the Wilmington and Newark stations.
Gov. Matt Meyer’s office has reached out to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro regarding the cuts and is reviewing “everything we can do here” to continue service in Delaware, said Nick Merlino, deputy chief of staff for communications and external affairs with the governor’s office.
Without rail service, the overall usage of the Claymont station would “decrease significantly,” said John Sisson, CEO of the Delaware Transit Corporation, or DART.
“It would hurt a little bit inside if it (Claymont) just became a bus station,” Sisson said.
DART operates under a 2002 agreement with SEPTA where it pays the transit system for trains to stop in Delaware. Recently, that payment has amounted to nearly $10.6 million annually.
DART also pays Amtrak for the use of its Northeast Corridor track.
The Wilmington/Newark line is currently operating at about 55% of pre-pandemic levels of ridership but recently had its highest week of riders since 2020, according to DelDOT.
Station ‘major milestone’ in Claymont redevelopment
On a recent afternoon, a handful of people waited at the Claymont station for the SEPTA train to Philadelphia. The train soon arrived, people strolled aboard and the cars slowly pulled away.
The station was then empty and the rails desolate.
The sight could become a familiar one if Pennsylvania lawmakers don’t step in with additional dollars for SEPTA.
A cut in service may also cause state and local officials to rethink where they direct economic development in the northern edge of Delaware. For years, the state and the Claymont Renaissance Development Corporation have targeted much of the area’s future development for sites around the new train station.
“I would feel incredibly disappointed that the leaders in Pennsylvania failed their fellow Americans,” said Brett Saddler, executive director of the Claymont Renaissance Development Corporation, a nonprofit that has helped lead revitalization efforts in the community.
Discussions of the Claymont station date back to 2005 when the project was a focal point of the area’s economic redevelopment plans. About a decade later, officials arrived at a plan to pay for construction of the station using a mix of state and federal dollars, including a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
After the federal transportation department awarded the grant in 2016, Delaware officials held a celebration in Claymont, in which they uniformly declared their bullishness in the future of the area.
“This is going to be amazing,” then-Gov. Jack Markell said at the time, when the project was expected to cost about $40 million.
Years later, in late 2023, the station was finally dedicated as the Harris B. McDowell, III Transportation Center. At the dedication ceremony, then-Gov. John Carney expressed sentiments similar to those made by his predecessor, Markell, seven years earlier, calling the new station a “major milestone” in the continued economic redevelopment of Claymont.
Today, Carney serves as the mayor of Wilmington, a city with a downtown workforce that uses the SEPTA line at a relatively high rate. His deputy chief of staff, Daniel Walker, said the city was not contacted or notified about the proposed SEPTA cuts before they became public.
The mayor’s office is assessing the impact that the cuts will have on incoming and outgoing travelers from the Wilmington station, Walker added.
If the cuts go through, the operating agreement between SEPTA and DART would initially be suspended and, if no funding resolution can be found, the contract would be terminated, according to Delaware transit officials.
DART plans to provide an official statement of support to SEPTA as part of the agency’s public hearing process. Additionally, DelDOT is meeting with SEPTA leadership but does not plan additional outreach at this time, according to the agency.
The SEPTA Board will vote on its operating and capital budget proposals on June 26.