Coatesville, PA (COT)

The city rose to fame in the early 19th century through the manufacture of boilerplates. Mills later supplied steel used in naval vessels and landmarks such as the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

Third Avenue and Fleetwood Street
Coatesville, PA 19320

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $167,047
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 11,937

Ownerships
Routes Served
Contact
Local Community Links

Facility Ownership: Amtrak
Parking Lot Ownership: Amtrak
Platform Ownership: Amtrak
Track Ownership: Amtrak

Keystone Service

Jane Brophy
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsnyc@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Amtrak passengers at Coatesville use a platform and shelter adjacent to the historic brick depot, which is one of the oldest existing train stations along the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. Built in 1868, the two-story brick depot shows characteristics of the Italianate style, such as segmental and flat window hoods, arcaded passageways, ornamental brickwork and a projecting tower. Italianate architecture was popular in the mid-19th century for its associations with idealized country and suburban settings.

Although an important part of Coatesville’s architectural and industrial history as a steel producing center, the former depot has been empty for more than 25 years and was included in Preservation Pennsylvania’s 2003 “Pennsylvania at Risk” report as one of that state’s most endangered historic properties.

For more than a decade, city, county and state officials discussed possible redevelopment scenarios for the station and surrounding neighborhood. Renewed emphasis was placed on redevelopment as part of planning activities associated with the Keystone Corridor Improvement Project, a multiyear program launched in the early 2000s to upgrade the 104-mile Amtrak-owned rail line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

The goal of the project was to improve the rail corridor to allow for all-electric train service, increase top speeds to 110 mph and add train frequencies including express options. As part of these efforts, the electric system to power the trains was replaced and continuous welded rail and concrete ties were installed. Following the inauguration of all-electric train service in 2006, ridership subsequently spiked at many stations along the line, including Coatesville.

On October 22, 2021, Governor Tom Wolf joined Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), federal and local officials to break ground on a new, accessible Coatesville station. Located on Fleetwood St. just east of the existing depot, the facility will provide level boarding platforms – where the platform is level with the doors of the train cars for easy boarding and alighting – canopies to protect passengers from inclement weather, elevators, brighter lighting and expanded parking. Multimodal connections will be enhanced by reconfiguring part of Fleetwood St. to accommodate a bus stop and drop off areas.

PennDOT is leading the project with support from Chester County, the city and the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority. PennDOT engaged with key stakeholders and the community over many years to ensure the station plan would enrich downtown, and city leaders envision the facility as an anchor for redevelopment. The station will not only increase transportation options for residents and visitors, but the plan also includes a plaza to encourage commercial and retail activity just south of the station.

With design completed, the station project will now move into the construction phase, which is expected to last into 2025. The total project, encompassing design, station and streetscape construction, and track work, is estimated to cost about $65 million. The funding includes $52 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), $13 million in state transportation funds and $700,000 from Chester County.

In anticipation of the station project, streetscape enhancements were undertaken on nearby 3^rd Ave. and 4^th Ave. from 2017-20, providing a more enjoyable walking and biking experience between the station and downtown, which hugs the historic Lincoln Highway (Route 30). Improvements included repaved roadways and installation of new accessible sidewalks and crosswalks, benches, lighting, bicycle racks and stormwater management infrastructure. The streetscaping efforts were led by the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority with funding from PennDOT and the FTA.

Coatesville has a rich railroad history that goes back to the early 19th century, when the nation’s transportation system began to undergo radical expansion that changed how people and goods were moved over long distances. New York State finished the Erie Canal in the 1820s and Maryland could boast of the National Road. Farsighted leaders in Pennsylvania pushed for a similar transportation corridor to link Philadelphia with Pittsburgh. Located at opposite ends of the state, the former was an important Atlantic Ocean port and cultural center, while the latter provided access to the Ohio River and the productive agricultural lands of the Midwest.

Rushing to catch up, by 1836 Pennsylvania had completed the Main Line of Public Works, a system of railroads and canals that reduced travel time across the state from weeks to four days. In the southeastern part of the state, the Main Line consisted of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, which established a depot in the 1830s on the west side of the West Branch of the Brandywine River as it passed through present-day Coatesville.

Maintenance proved expensive, prompting the state to sell the Main Line to the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1857. Originally chartered to run from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, by 1855 the railroad covered the entire distance between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and severely cut into the Main Line’s profit margin. The PRR undertook a program to modernize, straighten and realign the tracks, and cities along its path prospered as points of trade where rural farmers and manufacturers could ship their goods to distant markets. From 1902-1904, the PRR constructed the stone masonry arch High Bridge across the Brandywine; more than a century later, it remains a landmark as one enters downtown Coatesville.

Iron and then steel were important products carried by rail from Coatesville mills to destinations across the East Coast. As early as the 1790s, area mills were producing valuable iron products. The city rose to national and international fame in the early 19th century through the fine boilerplates manufactured by the Brandywine Ironworks. By the next century, the mills had taken the Lukens family name and went on to become major suppliers of steel used in U.S. Navy vessels and landmarks such as the St. Louis Gateway Arch and Philadelphia’s Walt Whitman Bridge. Due to later acquisitions and mergers, the mills are now part of the ArcelorMittal Steel Company and are known for plate steel.

The town’s manufacturing heritage is recognized at the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum, part of which is housed in the former downtown headquarters of the Lukens Steel Company. In addition to learning about how steel is made and the various steel products that came out of Coatesville, visitors may also tour nearby historic homes owned by the extended family that managed the mills throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Although Coatesville suffered economically from the decline of the American steel industry beginning in the 1970s, the city and the region have been undergoing redevelopment as Chester County has become the beneficiary of increasing demands for residential, recreational and retail facilities. Coatesville’s location near Philadelphia as well as its relatively low-cost of living has made it a prime competitor for this expanding market.

Amtrak’s Keystone Service is financed in part through funds made available by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.