The Franklin Street station served the railroad from 1930 until 1981 when
SEPTA diesel service ceased operations. Medium distance trains serving the station included the
King Coal and
Schuykill. From 1981 until 2013, the building sat vacant until BARTA acquired and refurbished the building for bus services. The plan was to alleviate overcrowded services at the
BARTA Transportation Center located about a block away, as well as make an effort to preserve the historic station. Grants from federal, state and local sources funded the acquisition and rehabilitation costs. The purpose for the acquisition was to create a multi-use complex in which the rehabilitation/renovation of the existing Franklin Street Station building and site was an integral component of the overall development of a transportation facility in the area. Between September 2013 and January 2014 BARTA bus service to
Lebanon was operated from the Station. Due to low ridership, the bus service was discontinued. In July 2017 the station was used for a multimedia art exhibition entitled "This is Reading" In June 2018, Saucony Creek Brewing Company leased the facility and opened a brewpub restaurant in July 2019. There is a proposal to return
SEPTA Regional Rail service to the station by way of an extension of the
Manayunk/Norristown Line, providing passenger train service from Reading to
Philadelphia. In 2020, the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation conducted a feasibility study on
bringing passenger train service to Reading via
Amtrak. ==References==