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Click here for the latest design and construction updates on Phase II from the Bucks County Planning Commission. This section is Bristol Road to Churchville Nature Center.
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08-24-2023
The Open House for the Newtown Rail Trail Phase II Extension to the Churchville Nature Center “was” Wednesday, September 20th, 2023!!!!
Click here for BCPC invite letter
Click here for preliminary construction plans
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01-11-2023
Bucks County Receives $2.5M in Grants for Newtown Rail Trail
State and federal grants totaling $2.5 million will help fund the second phase of construction of the Newtown Rail Trail as it stretches into Northampton Township.
The Bucks County Commissioners approved receipt of the grants – one from the state Department of Transportation for $1.5 million, and another for $1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – during their Jan. 4 public meeting.
“Our trail system is one of the true gems of Bucks County, and we’re excited to see it expand and improve,” said Commissioner Chair Bob Harvie. “We are thankful for our partners in the state and federal governments for their continued support of these projects that are enjoyed by so many of this county’s visitors and residents.” Video Here, (Regular Agenda) Full article here.
04-27-2022
PA Transportation Alternatives Funding Announces $4.5 Million for the Circuit. $850,000 towards the Newtown Rail Trail. https://bicyclecoalition.org/pa-transportation-alternatives-funding-announces-4-5-million-for-the-circuit/
03-25-2022
Newtown Rail Trail Phase 1 – Upper Southampton is now open! 2.55 Miles from Bristol Rd to County Line Rd.
Montgomery County’s, Pennypack Extension, 0.83 Miles from County Line Rd to Byberry Road is also complete.
You can now ride/walk/run 18.25 Miles from Bristol Rd to the Delaware River in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg neighborhood.
02-02-2022
It’s a great day for Northampton Township! Two awards worth $1,475,00 were granted to the Bucks County Planning Commission to beautify Northampton Township. Pennsylvania Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program The following projects have been selected as Regional awards for the 2021 TA Set-Aside program:
• Newtown Rail Trail Phase 2 Bristol Road to Churchville Nature Center ($650,000)
• Route 332 & Tyler Park Connection ($825,000)
12-17-2021
From the Bucks County Planning Commission regarding the “Upper Southampton” section. Click here for the latest information.
Trail opening / Ribbon Cutting
As you may have noticed, apart from a couple of minor items, construction activities along the trail
are now complete. The most recent updates to the trail included the following:
• Installing stormwater management improvements along the trail from the Street Road
underpass to just past Orchard Avenue;
• Paving the trail from Second Street Pike north to just past the entrance to Tamanend Park; and
• Spraying the edges of the trail with an environmentally friendly binding emulsion.
These measures were taken due to unforeseen erosion issues the trail was experiencing with
uncontrolled stormwater runoff from adjacent properties during heavy storms such as Hurricane Ida.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, the holidays, and the weather, an official ribbon cutting
will not be held until the spring of 2022. However, the trail will be officially open to the public for use
as soon as the contractor removes the “trail under construction” signs and other various construction
related signage.
07-20-2021
The last mile of the Pennypack Trail Extension in Montgomery County is complete and available for use. Byberry Road to County Line Road. This will connect to the Newtown Rail Trail in Upper Southampton. Parking is available at 1750 Byberry Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.
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06-04-2021
Moving the Circuit Forward To Reach 500 miles by 2025. The following table sorts the 14 trail segments that are the “in progress” or “pipeline” in Bucks County. The table provides the trail segment’s name, the trail corridor that it is part of, its mileage and its Community Impact Score. The Community Impact Score evaluates the impact these trails will have on residents based on equity, length, population, community need and connectivity potential. The combined results led to scores ranging from 0 to 11.9. View the full document here
Join the Circuit Trails as a Circuit Citizens. It’s free and would show your passion for the Circuit Trails and the Newtown Rail Trail. Details at: http://bicyclecoalition.nonprofitsoapbox.com/connect-circuit
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04-22-2021
Phase II of the Newtown Rail Trail, Bristol Rd to the Churchville Nature Center, was approved for “design” on 04-22-2021.
14 Circuit projects out of 40 applications were selected for approval by the Regional Technical Committee (RTC) and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
Thank you to the Buck County Planning Commission (BCPC) for submitting the application and to the Churchville Nature Center (CNC) for their letter of support.
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11-18-2020
Montgomery County updates:
The pedestrian crossing over Byberry Road has been completed.
The county has awarded the construction contract to Flyway Excavation, Inc. from Mount Joy, PA. They anticipate that construction from Byberry Road to County Line Road will start in January and completed in April.
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08-08-2020
The Bucks County Planning Commission has created a portal to keep residents and the public up to date on the first section of the Newtown Rail Trail in Upper Southampton. Click here for the Link. The second section, Northampton to Newtown, is optimistically starting in 2025.
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08-04-2020
Upper Southampton Township Police Department
As communicated earlier, construction is about to begin on the Newtown Rail Trail in Upper Southampton Township. More specifically, and we apologize for the short notice, surveyors will be beginning their work along the corridor the week of August 3. It is anticipated that the surveying activities will take 2-3 weeks. Things to be aware of relative to the surveying work:
– As part of the surveying process and the future removal of the railroad ties, the surveyors will be clearing brush and overgrowth. We have advised them to keep this to the minimal extent possible in order to preserve some additional buffering between the adjacent properties and the future trail.
– As the corridor is linear, not every property will be marked with surveying stakes, nor will stakes always be located on property corners.
– As a reminder, the trail and associated landscaping and fencing will not be placed along property boundaries. Instead, they will be centered approximately on the former railroad bed, which typically, although not always, was centered within the railroad right-of-way.
We appreciate your patience during this process. Feel free to contact the Bucks County Planning Commission, bcpc@buckscounty.org or 215-345-3400.
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07-06-2020
Construction of the Newtown Rail Trail within Upper Southampton Township, between County Line Road and Bristol Road, will begin on Monday, July 6, 2020. Please bear in mind that this date may change due to weather and/or other circumstances. However, this is the date that the contractor has indicated that construction activities will begin.
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06-11-2020
Bucks County Planning Commission, Upper Southampton Section of the Newtown Rail Trail
County Line Road to Bristol Road
After a competitive bidding process, The Bucks County Commissioners signed a resolution awarding a contract, in the amount of $2,349,580.25, to James D. Morrissey, Philadelphia, PA to construct the Newtown Rail Trail.
Construction will be funded via tax dollars allocated to PennDOT’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) specifically allocated to fund trail projects on The Circuit. http://www.circuittrails.org
A pre-construction meeting with the contractor has been scheduled for 6/22 at which we will be requesting a timeline outlining key dates relative to construction
Anticipated construction to start in July 2020.
Pennoni Associates, a Philadelphia-based engineering firm, will be overseeing the construction management of the trail on a daily basis.
Communications have been posted to the Upper Southampton Township website requesting that people refrain from using the corridor during the construction process due to safety concerns associated with vehicles and construction machinery.
No trespassing signs will be posted once construction begins.
https://www.ustwp.org/website-resources/news-events/news-article.aspx?aid=503
https://www.ustwp.org/website-resources/news-events/news-article.aspx?aid=494
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06-04-2020
Montgomery County Planning Commission
PENNYPACK TRAIL EXTENSION, Byberry Road to County Line Road
- Railroad ties have been removed from the ground in preparation of construction of the trail corridor.
- Construction related to the Byberry Road crossing is starting tomorrow, weather permitting, The crossing will include a pedestrian refuge island and a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB). Due to a backlog with the signal poles, this phase may be stretched over several months. There are no road closures anticipated related to this work, although there may be intermittent delays at times, as Byberry Road may be reduced to one-lane with flagging.
- Preparing to advertise the solicitation of bids for construction of the trail corridor. Construction of the corridor is estimated to begin in late summer.
- Please note that the trail section from Byberry Road to County Line Road is signed as an active construction zone, and “No Trespassing” signs are posted.
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02-26-2020
The “Newtown Rail Trail” and the “Northampton-Township-Master-Trail-Bicycle-Facilities-Plan” were approved 4 to 1 by the Northampton Supervisors. Thank you to Dr. Kim Rose, Barry Moore, Adam Selisker, and Eileen Silver!
Thank you to everyone’s effort getting to this day.
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12-19-2019
The Northampton-Township-Master-Trail-Bicycle-Facilities-Plan is published for review. This is the “Newtown Rail Trail” along with 10 other proposed trails. https://www.northamptontownship.com/information/master-trail-bicycle-facilities-plan/
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Upper Southampton Groundbreaking!
In 2020 Upper Southampton Township will bring the trail up to Bristol Road
https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/20191015/newtown-rail-trail-construction-to-begin
https://www.facebook.com/TheCircuitTrails/videos/2591763484443298/
By Peg Quann
Years in the making, the trail will be laid on the right-of-way where the former Newtown rail line used to run before SEPTA closed it down in 1983. The first section of trail, for which the ground was broken, will extend from Bristol Road to County Line Road in Upper Southampton.
Evan Stone, executive director of the Bucks County Planning Commission, expressed a big thank you to Mother Nature on Tuesday. She delayed the “torrential rains” expected this week so they wouldn’t dampen the groundbreaking for the new Newtown Rail Trail.
As the sun shone brightly, Stone and several other Bucks and Montgomery County officials picked up shovels to start work on the new multi-purpose trail as dozens of spectators watched at the former Southampton railroad station off Second Street Pike.
Years in the making, the trail will be laid on the right-of-way where the former Newtown rail line used to run before SEPTA closed it down in 1983. The first section of trail, for which the ground was broken, will extend from Bristol Road to County Line Road in Upper Southampton.
When it opens, it will be used by walkers, joggers and bicyclists and will connect Tamanend Park in Upper Southampton to the Pennypack Rail Trail in Montgomery County after a small section of trail running from County Line to the Pennypack trail is finished. The existing Pennypack Trail runs through Montgomery and Philadelphia to the Delaware River.
The Newtown project is expected to cost approximately $2.4 million. Design costs were funded by PennDOT’s Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund, Montgomery County and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Regional Trails Program via the William Penn Foundation, said Bucks spokesman Larry King. SEPTA is leasing the right-of-way for the project at $1 a year, said Paul Gordon of the Bucks County Planning Commission.
Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County commissioners, praised the two-county project. As a physician, Arkoosh said she knows how important it is for people’s health to get out into nature. “We welcome you down to Montgomery County once the trails are completed,” she said.
Bucks Commissioners Robert Loughery, Charles Martin and Diane Ellis-Marseglia thanked all involved in making the project a reality. Martin, who hails from Upper Southampton, remembered using the old rail line. Since it wasn’t viable for that to be reinstated, he said using the right-of-way for people’s enjoyment was the right thing to do. “I look forward to walking on this trail … It makes eminent sense,” he said.
Martin said he disagreed with a sign holder who protested the trail project on the grounds that another rail line should be built instead, to ease the congestion on the Warminster line and the shortage of parking at area transit stations. Paul Iverson, of Middletown, said he didn’t object to trails for walking and bicycling but thought the $2.4 million price tag for 2.5 miles was too high.
“To tear up a rail line seems to go against common sense,” Iverson said. He predicted it would cost about $1 million a mile to build a real rail line, but Gordon and Charles Linn, manager of the Office of Environmental Planning for the DVRPC, said the costs to build a commuter rail line would be much higher — with estimates starting at $5 million.
Martin said the former rail line that connected Newtown to Philadelphia was a diesel line. To install a new rail line that would run on electric power would be “too expensive,” he said, and wouldn’t give a good return on investment if the ridership wasn’t there to use it. He said the multi-use trail will soon be put out to bid with construction work to begin most likely in the spring.
In their remarks, both Stone and Linn praised in particular the efforts of Bucks County transportation planners Richard Brahler Jr. and Gordon for their work in making the project possible, even walking through underbrush and into streams to map out the trail.
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Bucks County officials are wrapping up the design and engineering phase for the Upper Southampton leg of the Newtown Rail Trail ahead of a fall groundbreaking for the estimated $2.2 million project. The county commissioners signed leases earlier this month for three parcels owned by Septa, stretching 2.5 miles from County Line Road near New Road to Bristol Road. This week, the county purchased an easement from a residence near the trail’s opening on County Line Road, which will allow construction crews to complete the crossing from Lower Moreland’s Pennypack Trail.
Paul Gordon, from the Bucks County Planning Commission, said in a phone interview Thursday that a ceremonial groundbreaking will be held sometime in the fall, but the work will not begin in earnest until spring with a targeted completion next fall. He said that Montgomery County is also working to have the extension of Pennypack Trail across Byberry and up to the County Line border completed around the same time. Septa is in the process of removing the steel rails for salvage, leaving Bucks with the task of pulling up the wooden ties. The tracks will be replaced with crushed stone, Gordon said.
The trail has been proposed by Bucks County officials to replace the Septa R8 line running through Northampton, Middletown, Newtown Township and Newtown Borough. Northampton supervisors have rejected the plan, stymying its progress beyond Bristol Road.
The county has paid for the more than $30,000 design and engineering costs for Upper Southampton’s portion, including an $8,208 contract increase to a Fort Washington firm approved Wednesday night. PennDOT’s Transportation Improvement Program will cover the actual construction expenses. Upper Southampton will be responsible for routine maintenance, and the police department will patrol the trail. Any major repairs will be covered by the county.
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Click here for details about the latest Newtown Rail Trail development!
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(Montgomery County Planning Commission)
Montgomery County is currently 75% complete with the designs for the trail from Byberry Road to County Line Road.
The county will be soliciting bids for construction of the proposed trail crossing at Byberry Road in the next 1-2 months with construction expected to begin summer of this year.
Construction of the rest of the trail is contingent upon completing negotiations with Norfolk Southern Railroad regarding the design of the trail underpass. These negotiations are about 80% completed and should be wrapped up by this summer with tentative trail construction this fall.
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(Bucks County Planning Commission)
Upper Southampton is moving along on schedule. This excavator removing rails was spotted near Bristol Road by one of our supporters.
Southampton Rail Removal near Bristol Rd
- 12 foot wide crushed stone multi-use path
- 2-1/2 miles length from County Line Road to Bristol Road
- Parking improvements at Southampton Train Station
- New traffic signal at County Line Road and New Road to allow safe trail crossings
- Improved crosswalk at Second Street Pike and Knowles Avenue
- Future connection to Pennypack Trail (by Montgomery County)
- Parking and access to trails within Tamanend Park
- Railroad tracks removed
- Construction tentatively anticipated in Fall of 2019
Rail are removed in Tamenend park
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Railway Setting Inspires Steam Pub Expansion Plans.
The train tracks that run by Steam Pub in Southampton helped shape the name and style of the restaurant, and for a second time, those tracks have sparked another big idea. Click here for details