Updated on March 19
PATCO announced it will reopen Franklin Square Station on April 3.
Original story follows:
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After years of planning, construction and renovations, PATCO says its Franklin Square Station will reopen next month.
"The final date hasn't been determined, but the plan is to reopen Franklin Square to our customers in April," PATCO General Manager John Rink told KYW Newsradio.
PATCO posted a Facebook video Friday teasing the reopening.
The station at Seventh and Race streets has been shuttered since 1979. Over the last three years, the Franklin Square Station has undergone a $30 million renovation featuring a new glass headhouse, preserving the original green and white tile at train level.
In recent months, Rink said issues involving the elevators and escalators delayed the opening. Upgrading the public address and safety systems also took extra time.
"Tying in all the new systems at the station with our existing and older systems that we have — our communications, our networks, things of that nature." Now, it's down to the final touches.
"If we have to finish glazing a tile or something has a scratch, it's things of that nature, just to make sure everything is done and that the station is 100% complete and ready to have the customers come through," Rink said.
"This will be the first time for a new stop on the PATCO system since Woodcrest station was opened [in 1980]," Rink said. "I believe, the first day when we have that open, we'll see quite a bit of the public wanting to come through and see how the station has been transformed.”
Rink said they should have a ribbon-cutting date solidified in about a week.