A new survey has found that borough businesses overwhelmingly support restoring passenger rail service to West Chester, writes Bill Rettew for The Daily Local News.
During a borough council workshop earlier this week, Charlot Barker, from the Committee to Reestablish Rail Service to West Chester, presented survey results showing that 93 percent of responding business owners support restoring the service from West Chester to Wawa, and then onto Philadelphia.
The survey conducted by RSS on Feb. 28 also revealed that 73 percent of the 40 participating businesses expect increased customer traffic if rail service is restored, while 70 percent anticipate a larger pool of employees.
West Chester had passenger rail service from 1932 to 1986, when SEPTA discontinued it due to low ridership.
According to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission estimates, by 2035, the new trains would be used by around 1,350 regular commuters.
The proposed commuter service would utilize existing SEPTA tracks for a shuttle connecting local passengers – including those from town, West Chester University, Westtown, and Cheyney University – to SEPTA Regional Rail trains at Wawa.
Read more about passenger rail service to West Chester possibly being restored in the future in The Daily Local News.
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