Wawa Signs Deal for Regional Rail Station Naming Rights
WAWA, Pa. — Commuters in the Philadelphia region will be able to visit Wawa without setting foot inside a convenience store starting next month. On Aug. 21, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will open Wawa Station, the newest Regional Rail stop in Delaware County.
Wawa Inc. paid $5.4 million to secure the station's naming rights for 10 years, reported NBC10 Philadelphia.
The new rail station is an addition to the end of the Media/Elwyn line, which previously terminated in Elwyn, Pa. The line will be known as the Media/Wawa line once the changes officially take effect.
Located approximately three miles west of Elwyn Station, the new Wawa Station will serve the borough of Chester Heights, which overlaps the convenience store operator's headquarters hometown of Wawa. The station building is ADA accessible and sited next to a 600-space parking lot. It will also feature an underpass for pedestrians and offer bathrooms, which are not available at all Regional Rail train stations. SEPTA bus routes 111 and 114 will connect at Wawa Station.
SEPTA reported that the addition of the station was made by possible by the restoration of train lines that had not been serviced in 36 years. The station began undergoing renovations in 2018.
"Wawa is thrilled to partner with SEPTA to relaunch the Media/Wawa Line and provide our friends and neighbors a convenient way to travel from Wawa, Pennsylvania, to Center City Philadelphia and all stops in between," said Wawa President and CEO Chris Gheysens. "Located across from the Wawa Dairy that has been bottling and distributing milk for more than 100 years and adjacent to our home office campus, this rail line has meant a lot to Wawa and to our founding family throughout the years. We cannot wait to celebrate its return and look forward to being a part of new history through this new station."
One year after George Wood founded the Wawa Dairy in 1903, he set up a milk depot in Philadelphia's Center City that received milk shipped from the old Wawa train station and served as a central hub for distribution to the rest of the area, according to SEPTA.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at Wawa Station in August, with details coming soon, Wawa and SEPTA reported.
Wawa Station marks SEPTA's fifth naming rights deal since 2010, according to a BillyPenn report. Most recently, University City Station became Penn Medicine Station in 2020 upon the signing of a five-year, $3.3 million deal.
Wawa is one of several convenience store chains to acquire naming rights to notable locations in recent years. In 2019, ExtraMile Convenience Stores LLC reached an agreement with Boise State University to secure naming rights for ExtraMile Arena, formerly Taco Bell Arena; and in 2021, Enmarket secured naming rights to a 9,500-seat venue in Savannah, Ga. Enmarket Arena now hosts the Savannah Professional Hockey Team.
Pennsylvania-based Wawa operates nearly 1,000 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C.