PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Trains resumed at Somerset Station along the Market-Frankford Line Monday. The Kensington station was closed for two weeks for emergency maintenance and safety repairs.
Neighbor Daniel McCandless has been paranoid while walking to the next closest stations during the closure.
“If I get off here and go straight to my house, because I’m really close by, it’s a lot safer for me,” he said of Somerset, “and I’m so glad for it.”
SEPTA enhanced lighting, painted walls, and reinforced structures like the passenger crossovers. McCandless noticed the station looks much cleaner — among other improvements.
“I see a lot less people in the stairwell shooting up and stuff,” he said. “They got a lot more transit police watching the place.”
Riders who had to temporarily walk to the nearby Huntington or Allegheny stations to catch the El said the trek could be dangerous, as it passes through ground zero of Kensington’s opioid epidemic.
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Several officers were patrolling Somerset Station Monday afternoon as well as the stairwell that leads to the platform. The stairwell was empty except for riders catching a train or just getting off one.
At one point, an officer on the platform approached a man sitting on a bench, who noticeably didn’t get on several trains that stopped at the station. He left shortly after their interaction.
SEPTA said officers will be onsite throughout the service day. The transit agency also added a police booth on the street level.
After seeing the result, McCandless believes the closure was worth it.
Repair crews are still working on the elevators to the platform, and they are closed until further notice.
SEPTA plans to use this same model to fix others stations dealing with similar challenges.