Delaware Train Coalition · Est. 2026 · Wilmington → Lewes
A rail corridor runs the full length of Delaware — but passenger service stops at Newark. Two of our three counties, including the state capital, have no train at all. We're the statewide coalition working to change that.
Our platform
We don't need to invent a railroad. Freight trains run the length of the state every day. Our platform is about putting people back on that corridor — and making the service we already have work harder.
Delaware already holds a federal Corridor ID grant to study passenger service from Wilmington or Newark through Dover and Harrington to the Maryland line. Our job: build the public support that carries it from feasibility study through engineering to actual trains.
Advocate for more frequent SEPTA service, weekend trains that actually reach Newark and Churchmans Crossing — today weekend service stops at Wilmington and Claymont — integrated fares with DART, and station-area development that grows ridership.
Push for pilot summer service toward Lewes and the Cape Region — paired with shuttle connections — to give visitors and workers an alternative to Route 1 gridlock.
Ensure Delaware maintains a modern state rail plan with genuine public input, and give riders and would-be riders an organized, credible voice in Dover and in Washington.
Why now
Three forces are converging — and states that organize now will be the ones that see trains first.
Kent and Sussex are among the fastest-growing parts of the state. Every new rooftop without a transit option is another car on Route 1 and Route 13.
Delaware has already won a $500,000 federal Corridor ID grant to study downstate passenger rail. Corridors with organized, visible public support are the ones that advance from study to construction.
States our size have restored passenger service on freight corridors through partnership and persistence. The playbook exists — someone has to run it here.
Get on board
The coalition is riders, businesses, local officials, and neighbors from all three counties. Founding members shape the platform, hear about hearings and comment periods first, and put their name behind bringing trains back to Delaware.
Free to join. We'll never share your information. Prefer email? Write to delawaretraincoalition@outlook.com.