Why Should Delaware Care?
Thousands of Delaware residents rely on SEPTA’s Wilmington/Newark train line to get to Philadelphia. A small town near Wilmington is weighing whether to build the fifth station in the state less than a year after the transit agency fell into financial turmoil.
A yearslong effort to bring passenger rail service back to Newport is once again under consideration with Delaware officials seeking public input about a proposed station that planners say could ease traffic in the state.
Representatives from Delaware’s public transit agency DART held a public workshop last week to gather community feedback on a conceptual plan for bringing a train station back to Newport.
The early-stage plan call for a station at the intersection of James and Water streets, next to the Interstate 95 overpass. It would have about 100 parking spots, improved sidewalks and a bike lane under the James Street overpass.
The proposal is the latest in years of regional planners studying the idea of building a Newport train station.
It also comes at a pivotal time for transit in the state. While Delaware has invested heavily in train stations over the past decade — including a $90 million facility in Claymont — the regional transit authority SEPTA threatened last year to cut its commuter rail service to Delaware altogether, amid a financial crisis.
Gov. Matt Meyer’s office said last fall that Delaware plans to continue relying on SEPTA for rail service to Philadelphia. The state currently contributes about $10 million annually to support the service.
Today, there’s about a “50-50” chance that the Newport station ultimately is built, DART executive Albert Loyola said.
He said there is public support for the proposal, but noted the Delaware Department of Transportation would have to choose to fund it as part of a “very competitive” capital improvement plan.
While dollars for construction are uncommitted, DelDOT has set aside money for a comprehensive report analyzing potential designs and costs to build the station.
The report is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
Get Involved
DART is seeking public input on the Newport Train Station Study, to determine what kind of support it might have. To participate, email the authors below or call 1-855-925-2801.
Ultimately, if the plan moves forward, Loyola said Delawareans would have more options for travel across the state’s busy northern corridor.
“In [Interstate] 95, there’s always a lot of traffic. This would be another alternative, and it’ll be an affordable alternative,” Loyola said.
The recently-built commuter rail station in Claymont cost taxpayers about $90 million, which was $50 million over the initial estimate. The Claymont station included a parking garage and a large parking lot. Currents plan for the Newport station include only a small surface parking lot.
Loyola said the transit agency will hold an open house sometime in July to gather more public input on the plans.
What would the station be like?
The handful of residents who attended Tuesday’s public workshop said they supported the project.
Among those was Dave Tiberi, owner of a local security company, who said the station could bring new people to Newport.
“They’re going to see firsthand that it’s a beautiful town and it’s safe. It’s got a lot of the features that people look for,” Tiberi said.
Initial estimates show the station could have a daily weekday ridership between 85 and 225 people, increasing ridership for the Wilmington/Newark line.
Those numbers could change if SEPTA adds more frequent service to Newark, which it is considering, Loyola said. They are unlikely to change if Maryland’s transit agency extends rail service into Delaware from Baltimore. The agency’s long-range plan anticipates MARC trains stopping at Newark and Wilmington, but not the other Delaware stations.
State Sen. Elizabeth Lockman (D-West Wilmington), who also attended Tuesday’s public workshop, said Newport has become a positive example of a town encouraging alternate forms of transportation.
Lockman said it is “hard to say” whether her colleagues in the state legislature would help fund the project without knowing its cost.
But she said there is a general consensus that the state needs better public transportation.
“I think all of us see the benefits of that, and we wish maybe we’d done more of that in recent decades. But, you know, there’s no better time than the present to start reorienting,” Lockman said.
