Page 32 - Chester County Chamber - 2019 Guide and Business Directory

TRANSPORTATION
CHESTER COUNTY CHAMBER
By Road, Rail & Air
No matter where you’re headed, Chester County has a way to get you there
When it comes to getting around Chester County, residents have several convenient options.
From high-speed interstates to winding country roads, automobile travelers find the county easy to navigate and within close proximity to Philadelphia and Wilmington and other points to the north and west.
The Coatesville Train Station is under- going major improvements, including plans for a new building and platform, which is being funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. There are also plans for a new parking garage and an office building near the station. The first phase of the project, the Third Avenue Streetscape, is almost complete.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Transit Authority (SEPTA) runs bus lines and the Regional Rail Line, connecting points throughout Chester County and beyond to major shopping and transit hubs, including King of Prussia Mall, the 69th Street Station in Upper Darby and Philadelphia.
The Paoli Station, built more than 60 years ago, is undergoing a $36 million renovation. Improvements include a new high-level platform and additional track work, eleva- tors, ramps, a pedestrian overpass, parking lot enhancements and ADA improve-
ments to the existing station building. Construction began in February 2017, and phase I should be completed in late 2018.
Each year, about a million Amtrak and SEPTA riders come through Paoli, which transportation officials call a key stop in the 104-mile-long Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Paoli’s station is one of the busiest transit hubs outside
of Philadelphia, according to SEPTA.
The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile railroad line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The service along the Keystone Corridor, the Harrisburg-to-New York City Keystone Service, runs through Chester County along the Paoli-Thorndale line route. This route also connects the central United States to the west. To the east, it connects at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station with Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and runs from Washington, D.C., to Boston.
Students who attend colleges in Philadelphia, such as Temple University, are able to take advantage of the area’s transportation infrastructure through the Keystone Line as they travel toward Lancaster County.
SEPTA also keeps the region connected through its bus service. For example, Oxford, at the southernmost end of the county, is connected to West Chester through the SCCOOT bus, with stops in West Grove, Lincoln University, Kennett Square and Longwood Gardens. The Coatesville Link bus service provides transportation between Parkesburg and Coatesville. The Krapf “A” Bus provides east-west service between Coatesville
and West Chester, with stops in Thorndale,
Acela Express
Downingtown and Exton, along with con- nections to SEPTA’s regional rail stations.
Eastern Chester County is home to many communities that comprise parts of
the Main Line — another name for the western suburbs of Philadelphia — while part of its southernmost portion consists of communities that serve as suburbs
of Wilmington, along with southwest Delaware County.
Several major highways serve the region, including I-95, I-76/PA Turnpike, U.S. 1, U.S. 30, U.S. 202, U.S. 322, U.S. 422, 52 and PA 100. These roads provide easy access to neighboring cities and towns, including Philadelphia, Wilmington, Lancaster County, Lehigh Valley and the shores of New Jersey, to the east.
Local airports, such as Philadelphia International Airport and the Chester County G.O. Carlson Airport in Coatesville, are easily accessible to and from Chester County, and there is an abundance of public transportation that serves the region.
The Smart Park/Express Park, located just two minutes from Philadelphia Airport,
Philadelphia International Airport
30 Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry