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  SEPTA Regional Rail

SEPTA Regional Rail system map
Overview
Stations called at	153
Headquarters	1234 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Reporting mark	SEPA (revenue equipment), SPAX (non-revenue and MOW equipment)
Locale	Delaware Valley
Dates of operation	1983–present
Predecessor	Conrail
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The SEPTA Regional Rail system consists of commuter rail service on thirteen branches to over 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and its suburbs. Service on most lines runs from 5:30 AM to midnight. The core of the Regional Rail system is the Center City Commuter Connection composed of three Center City stations in the "tunnel" corridor: the above-ground upper level of 30th Street Station; and the underground Suburban Station; and Market East Station. All trains stop at these Center City stations, and most also stop at Temple University station on the campus of Temple University in North Philadelphia. Operations are handled by the SEPTA Railroad Division.^[1]

The 13 branches can be divided into those originally owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) (which would become Penn Central), and those of the Reading Company (RDG). Before the Center City Commuter Connection opened in November 1984, the Pennsylvania Railroad commuter lines and the Reading commuter lines were two completely separate railroads. Each had a separate Center City terminal, with the PRR lines terminating at Suburban Station, while the RDG lines terminated at Reading Terminal.

Reading Terminal was replaced by Market East Station, which is part of the Center City Commuter Connection and sits partially under the former Reading Terminal. The Center City Commuter Connection united the two systems by turning the two terminal stations into through-stations, resulting in a more efficient system with most inbound trains from one line continuing on as outbound trains on another line (some limited/express trains terminate on one of the stub-end tracks at Suburban Station.)

There are 13 lines in the Regional Rail system, with seven on the former PRR side and six on the former RDG side.

Prior to July 25, 2010, each PRR line was paired with a RDG branch and numbered from R1 to R8, except for R4, so that one route number described two lines, one on the PRR side and one on the RDG side. This was found to be less beneficial than originally thought, especially for newer riders, as finding which train, as one had to remember the terminus or direction in addition to the R-number. Along with changes in train dispatching that lead to fewer trains following both sides of the same route, SEPTA decided to drop the R-number route designators. The color-coded designations for each route were also eliminated.^[2]

Former Pennsylvania Railroad lines

• Airport Line: terminates at the Philadelphia International Airport.
• Chestnut Hill West Line: terminates in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.
• Cynwyd Line: terminates in Bala Cynwyd and operates on weekdays only. Until 1986, trains continued on to Ivy Ridge station in northwestern Philadelphia.
• Media/Elwyn Line: terminates in Elwyn. Until 1986, trains continued on to West Chester. SEPTA is considering restoring service to Wawa, about three miles (5 km) west of Elwyn; however, this project is on hold, pending approval of the Fiscal Year 2011 Capital Budget ^[3]
• Paoli/Thorndale Line: some trains terminate at Malvern and the others go to Thorndale.
• Trenton Line: terminates in Trenton, New Jersey. This line offers a connection to New York Penn Station via New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line.
• Wilmington/Newark Line: terminates in Wilmington, Delaware, with some weekday trains continuing to Newark, Delaware. The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) subsidizes Delaware service.

Former Reading Company lines

• Chestnut Hill East Line: terminates in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.
• Fox Chase Line: terminates in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia. Until 1983, connecting diesel trains continued to Newtown, Pennsylvania.
• Lansdale/Doylestown Line: terminates at Doylestown. On weekdays, approximately half of the local trains terminate at Lansdale while the remainder of the local trains, and some expresses, continue on to Doylestown.
• Manayunk/Norristown Line: terminates at Elm Street in Norristown.
• Warminster Line: terminates in Warminster.
• West Trenton Line: terminates at the West Trenton station in Ewing, New Jersey.

There are 153 active stations on the Regional Rail system (as of 2006^[update]), of which 51 are in the city of Philadelphia, 41 are in Montgomery County, 29 are in Delaware County, 16 are in Bucks County, 10 are in Chester County, and six are outside the state of Pennsylvania. Passenger boardings within Philadelphia account for 61% of all trips on a typical weekday in 2003, with 45% from the three Center City stations and Temple University station.

SEPTA uses a mixed fleet of Budd Company, General Electric and St. Louis Car Company "Silverliner" electric multiple unit (EMU) self-operated cars. SEPTA also uses push-pull equipment consisting of coaches built by Bombardier and Pullman Standard, hauled by AEM-7 or ALP-44 electric locomotives identical to those used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit (NJT) on its electrified rail services for express and rush-hour service. The "Silverliner" coaches, first used by the PRR 1958 as the "Pioneer III," for a prototype intercity EMU alternative to the GG1-hauled trains, were purchased by SEPTA in 1963 as "Silverliner II" units for both the PRR and Reading lines and were built by the Budd Corporation in Philadelphia. In 1967, the PRR took delivery of the St. Louis-built "Silverliner III" cars, which featured left-hand side controls (railroad cars traditionally have right-hand side controls) and flush toilets (since removed), and were used primarily for Harrisburg-Philadelphia service. Both the Silverliner II and III cars were designated under the PRR MP85 class.

The bulk of the fleet, the "Silverliner IV", were built by General Electric in Philadelphia and Erie, PA with Budd components, and were delivered in 1974–76, prior to the formation of Conrail. The "Silverliner II", "Silverliner III", and "Silverliner IV" cars are used on all Regional Rail lines, while the Bombardier push-pull equipment is used exclusively for Wilmington/Newark Line, West Trenton Line, Paoli/Thorndale Line, and Trenton Line peak express service. The push-pull equipment is used only for express runs because its slow acceleration, compared to the Silverliner EMU equipment, making it less suitable for local service with close station spacing and frequent stops and starts. Some "Silverliner III" cars were even converted for exclusive Airport Line use – they featured special luggage racks (where the old toilet closets were located, and are still in use to this day), yellow window paintings, and the "PHL" logo used for the Philadelphia International Airport. Currently, all cars, regardless of the model, have a blended red and blue SEPTA window logos, and (required by Amtrak for operations on both the Northeast and Keystone Corridors) flashing "ditch lights," which are switched on at grade crossings and when "deadheading" through stations. SEPTA also owns 2 "Arrow II" EMU cars built by Budd and once operated by New Jersey Transit for its electrified service to and from New York City and Hoboken Terminal. The "Arrow II" car is nearly identical to that of the "Silverliner IV", but lacks the distinctive dynamic brake roof "hump" on the car, and has a "diamond" pantograph instead of the "T" pantograph used on the "Silverliner". The "Arrow II" are used as part of work trains, such as catenary inspection and leaf removal.

With the exception of the "Pioneer III" (Silverliner I) coaches, which have since been retired and (except for one, which is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in nearby Strasburg, Pennsylvania) scrapped, all three Silverliner models are compatible with one another. SEPTA is currently undergoing the process of retiring the "Silverliner II" and "Silverliner III" cars and replacing them with the "Silverliner V" model.

A total of 120 new "Silverliner V" cars are to be built, with the first three entering service on October 29, 2010.^[4] The cost for all 120 cars is $274 million, and they will be constructed facilities in South Philadelphia and South Korea by Hyundai Rotem, with the entire fleet to enter service by the end of 2011.^[4][5]

Resembling a "stretched" Market-Frankford Line M-4 car or the M8 cars used by the Metro-North Railroad, the "Silverliner V" cars will have three doors on each side: one each a quarter length from each end of the cars for boarding and alighting at stations with either high or low-level platforms, and an additional door adjacent to one of the quarter-point doors used at high level platforms for faster arrivals and departures at the major Center City zone stations (University City, 30th Street, Suburban/Penn Center, Market East, and Temple University). They also feature wider aisles and seats, and dedicated areas for wheelchairs and power scooters. In place of the glass-reinforced plastic placards denoting the train route, the train route and destination will be displayed on new colored LED panels on both the front and sides of the train, and improved public announcement systems will allow the automated system to announce station names. The new trains feature enhanced security, with CCTV cameras that are able to broadcast over a proprietary wireless network to the Command Center at SEPTA's headquarters.

In addition to the new "Silverliner V" cars, the "Silverliner IV" cars have been upgraded with silicone-based transformers (the original transformers used PCBs) and now sport new red-colored pantographs that will allow both the "Sliverliner IV" and "Silverliner V" cars to look aesthetically and functionally more alike.

All current SEPTA equipment is compatible with the power supplies on both the ex-PRR (Amtrak-supplied) and ex-RDG (SEPTA-supplied) sides of the system. The entire system uses 12,000-volt/25 Hz overhead catenary lines that were erected by the PRR and RDG railroads between 1915 and 1938, with the system "phase break" being located at the northern entrance to the Center City commuter tunnel between the Market East Station and the Temple University Station.

SEPTA's railroad reporting mark SEPA is the official mark for their revenue equipment, though it can rarely be found on any noticeable external markings. SPAX can be seen on non-revenue work equipment including boxcars, diesel locomotives, and other rolling stock.

• Two former Reading Company FP7s, October 29, 1978. These trains were used for the SEPTA's "Reading Express" until diesel service was discontinued on July 27, 1981.
  Two former Reading Company FP7s, October 29, 1978. These trains were used for the SEPTA's "Reading Express" until diesel service was discontinued on July 27, 1981.
• 
  Silverliner II No. 269 still carrying "PENNSYLVANIA" name boards.
• 
  Eastbound SEPTA 145 making a station stop in Paoli, in 1993.
• 
  Train of Silverliner II and III cars entering the Temple University Station in May 2006.
• 
  SEPTA AEM-7 engine 2301 enters the Temple University station.
• 
  GE Silverliner IV at 30th Street Station.
• 
  Rotem Silverliner V at Chestnut Hill West Station.

All lines used by SEPTA are electrified with overhead catenary supplying alternating current at 12 kV with a frequency of 25 Hz. The system on the former PRR side is owned and operated by Amtrak, part of the electrification of the Northeast Corridor. The electrification on the RDG side is owned by SEPTA. The Amtrak system was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1915 and 1938. The SEPTA-owned system was orignally built by The Reading Railroad starting in 1931.

SEPTA has four major yards and facilities for the storage and maintenance of regional rail trains:

• Frazer Yard, in Frazer, PA, along the Paoli/Thorndale Line; services push-pull train sets.
• Overbrook Maintenance Facility, near Overbrook station on the Paoli/Thorndale Line; Services EMUs
• Powelton Yard, adjacent to 30th Street Station
• Roberts Yard, adjacent to Wayne Junction

SEPTA was created to provide government subsidies to passenger railroads and transit operations, and in 1966 had contracts with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the Reading Company (RDG) to continue commuter rail services in the Philadelphia region.^[7]

The PRR and RDG operated both passenger and freight trains along their tracks in the Philadelphia region. To improve the efficiency of their commuter passenger lines, both companies added electrification to their busiest lines. The system used is an overhead catenary trolley wire that is energized at 11,000 V single-phase AC at 25 Hertz (Hz), very uncommon by today's standards as regular American households use double-phase AC at 60 Hz. The PRR started using this system on the Paoli line in 1915, the Chestnut Hill West line in 1918, and the Media/West Chester and Wilmington lines in 1928. Both the PRR and RDG continued their electrification projects into the 1930s, replacing trains pulled by steam locomotives with electric multiple unit cars and locomotives. PRR electrification reached Trenton and Norristown in 1930. RDG began electrified operation in 1931 to West Trenton, Hatboro (extended to Warminster in 1974) and Doylestown, and in 1933 to Chestnut Hill East and Norristown. The notable exception was the line to Newtown, which was the Reading's only suburban route not electrified.

Carrying passengers had been unprofitable for the railroads since about 1950, due to the rise in automobile ownership and the building of the Interstate Highway System. Because of this, the city of Philadelphia undertook a partnership with the RDG and PRR in the late 50s to subsidize commuter service.^[7] This, however, was not enough to counter the deterioration of the railroad infrastructure. The city did purchase new commuter equipment starting in the 1960s, the Silverliners. The railroads were losing money in general and were keen to get rid of their passenger operations so that they could focus on more profitable freight service. Plus, the noticeable neglect of their passenger service was becoming an issue with commuters and local governments.

On February 1, 1968, the PRR merged with the New York Central railroad to become the Penn Central (PC) in an effort to remain solvent. Two years later, on June 21, 1970, PC filed for bankruptcy.

In 1971, the RDG filed for bankruptcy after being unprofitable for several years mostly due to the selling of its minority stakes after the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) was absorbed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) in the 1960s. The B&O used the Reading's tracks from Philadelphia to Jersey City, New Jersey for its Washington-New York service, but eliminated passenger service north of Baltimore in 1958.

In 1976, Conrail took over the railroad-related assets and operations of the bankrupt PRR and RDG railroads, including the commuter rail operations. Conrail provided commuter rail services under contract to SEPTA until January 1, 1983, when SEPTA assumed operations.^[7]

The transition from Conrail to SEPTA, overseen by General Manager David L. Gunn, was not a smooth one.^[7] SEPTA attempted to impose transit (bus and subway driver's) pay scales and work rules, which was met by resistance by the BLE (an experiment was already in place on the diesel-only Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line, which used City Transit Division employees instead of traditional railroad employees as a bargaining chip). As the January 1, 1983 deadline approached, the unions stated they agreed to work even if new union contracts were not in place by the new year.^[8] SEPTA had spent most of December 1982 preparing riders for the likelihood of no train service come the new year.^[8] Even with the unions' offers to continue working, SEPTA insisted that a brief shutdown of service would still be necessary, arguing that it would not know until the eleventh hour how many Conrail employees would actually come to work for SEPTA.^[8] In addition, SEPTA claimed that these employees would have to be qualified to work on portions of the system unfamiliar to them.^[8]

A lawyer who regularly commuted from Newtown on the Fox Chase Rapid Transit line filed a class action lawsuit against SEPTA to force the agency to keep trains running.^[8] The judge who heard the case, while agreeing that SEPTA probably would not be able initially to operate a full schedule, ordered the agency to keep as much train service running as possible.^[8] This resulted in limited service after January 1, 1983 on all the former RDG lines and the heavily patronized former PRR Paoli line.^[8] Full service was gradually restored over the next several weeks.^[8]

The unions then surprised SEPTA on March 15, 1983 by going on strike, still without contracts, in an action timed to coincide with an expected City Transit Division strike.^[8] At the time, the City Transit Division was chafing at SEPTA for discontinuing diesel service on the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line on January 14, 1983, as personnel were paid higher salaries for traveling a considerable distance to operate trains based in Newtown.^[8] SEPTA, however, settled with the transit union shortly before its strike deadline, a move that rail unions took as a betrayal.^[8] The rail unions had hoped that with both the railroads and City Transit shut down, the unions could extract whatever settlement they desired.^[7] The railroad strike lasted 108 days, and service did not resume until July 3, 1983, when the last holdout union agreed to a contract to settle from the other rail unions.^[8]

In the end, SEPTA would treat the unions as proper railroad workers vs. transit operators, but their pay scale remains lower than that of other Northeast commuter railroads, such as NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad. This resulted in lower ridership, which took approximately three years to rebuild.

SEPTA's current regional rail system is entirely run with electric-powered multiple unit cars and locomotives. This situation is unique in North America, as all other commuter rail agencies throughout the continent operate with either a combination of diesel and electric motive power, or entirely diesel trains.

Under contract to SEPTA, Conrail operated four routes throughout the 1970s on the former Reading lines. These services originated from Reading Terminal:

• Allentown via Bethlehem, Quakertown and Lansdale. Allentown-Quakertown service ended 1979; Bethlehem-Quakertown service ended July 1, 1981; Quakertown-Lansdale service ended July 27, 1981.
• Pottsville via Reading and Norristown, ended July 27, 1981.
• Newark, New Jersey (to Newark Penn Station) via West Trenton. Service past West Trenton ended July 1, 1981; replacement New Jersey Transit connecting service continued until 1983.
• Fox Chase-Newtown service initially ended July 1, 1981; it was re-established on October 5, 1981 as the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line, which then ended on January 14, 1983.

Most train equipment was either Budd Rail Diesel Cars, or locomotive-hauled push-pull trains with former RDG FP7s.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) eliminated funding to operate trains that operated outside of SEPTA's service area (the 5-county region), diverting the funds instead to highway projects.^[9] Coupled with the Reagan Administration's policy abolishing federal operating subsidies for mass transit,^[10] SEPTA was not allowed to allocate any funding outside of the 5-county region, resulting in public hearings held during the week of January 26, 1981.

Via a flyer distributed to soon-to-be-displaced riders, the Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers (DVARP) urged passengers to contact Governor Dick Thornburgh, who ordered PennDOT to eliminate train service. Thornburgh later fired PennDOT Deputy Secretary of Transportation Ed Tennyson for refusing to carry out the governor's order.^[11] Tennyson stated that such a move was illegal on Thornburgh's part, as the elimination of such extensive passenger service would result in additional automobile combustion and pollution.^[12]

DVARP also argued that the only reason SEPTA had to eliminate diesel service was "further reduce the number of riders using these trains so they can justify replacement bus service. A train rider is not a bus rider." DVARP added that SEPTA needed to "work out a solution to the funding problem rather than just quit! It's hard to improve a train after it's gone".^[9]

Another factor was the omission of ventilation fans in the design of the Center City Commuter Tunnel that opened in 1984. DVARP advocated for the inclusion of ventilation fans that would allow diesel exhaust fumes to exit tunnels and stations. SEPTA deemed the option unfeasible throughout the planning process.^[10]

DVARP later characterized the termination of the diesels as "SEPTA's worst railroad mistake."^[13] The end of diesel service resulted in over 150 route miles lost, much of it through regions whose populations exploded throughout the 1980s and 1990s.^[13]

In November 1984, the Center City Commuter Connection opened for service. The tunnel, which had been first discussed in the 1950s, is an underground connection between PRR and RDG lines; previously, PRR commuter trains would terminate at Suburban Station and RDG at Reading Terminal. The connection converted Suburban Station into a through-station and rerouted RDG trains down a steep incline and into a tunnel which turns sharply west near the new Market East Station. Converting the terminals into through stations was seen as increasing efficiency and reducing the number of tracks needed for the trains.^[7]

On April 28, 1985, the Airport Line opened, providing service from Suburban Station via 30th Street Station to the Philadelphia International Airport. This line runs along Amtrak's NEC to a bridge which carries it over the NEC and onto Reading trackage which passes close to the airport. At the airport, a new bridge carries it over Interstate 95 and into the airport terminals between the baggage claim in arrivals and the check-in counters in departures.^[7]

The end of diesel trains between 1979 and 1983 was the beginning of SEPTA's downsizing era. A lack of operating funds, coupled with SEPTA's desire to avoid maintaining lines in need of significant maintenance^[14], resulted in additional service cutbacks throughout the 1980s:

• R3 West Chester service was truncated to Elwyn on September 19, 1986 due to unsatisfactory track conditions west of Elwyn.
• R6 Ivy Ridge service was truncated to Cynwyd on May 17, 1986, due to concerns about the Manayunk Bridge over the Schuylkill River.
• R8 diesel service between Fox Chase and Newtown ended on January 14, 1983 due to failing diesel train equipment SEPTA was not interested in rehabilitating. Though this service was initially terminated on July 1, 1981 (along with diesel services to Allentown and Pottsville), SEPTA reinstated service on October 5, 1981, using operators from the city transit division (the service was known as the experimental Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line). This caused a rift in unions within the organization, adding to the March 1983 strike that lasted 108 days.^[15]

SEPTA management was criticized for the severe cutbacks the agency deemed necessary at the time. Noted international transit expert and University of Pennsylvania professor Vukan Vuchic (who also designed the former R-numbering system for SEPTA) commented that he had never seen a city the size of Philadelphia "cut transit services quite as drastically as SEPTA. For a system that is already obsolete, any more cutbacks would be disastrous—and likely spell doom for transit in the Philadelphia region."^[16]

DVARP also commented that SEPTA purposely truncated service, stating that while other commuter railroad counterparts "in North America expand their rail services, SEPTA is the only one continuing to cut and cut and cut. The only difference between SEPTA and its railroad and transit predecessors is that SEPTA eliminates services to avoid rebuilding assets, while its predecessors (PRR, RDG and Conrail) kept service running while deferring maintenance."^[14]

As a result of decades of deferred maintenance on the Reading Viaduct between the Center City Commuter Connection and Wayne Junction, SEPTA undertook a 10-month, $354 million project to overhaul the viaduct in 1992 and 1993.^[8] Labeled "RailWorks," by SEPTA, the project, spurred by an emergency bridge replacement project in 1983 shortly after the tunnel opened, resulted in the replacement of several dilapidated bridges, the installing of new continuous-welded rail and overhead catenary, the construction of new rail stations at Temple University and North Broad Street, and the upgrading of signals.^[8]

Built by the Reading Company and opened in 1898 along with Reading Terminal, the Reading Viaduct is a series of bridges and embankments that allows trains to run on elevated railroad tracks, separated from road traffic and pedestrians. The 1983 bridge replacement, over Columbia (now Cecil B. Moore) Avenue near Temple University, was in such poor condition that the bridge inspector actually saw the structure sag every time a train passed over the bridge; further inspection revealed that the bridge was in imminent danger of collapsing.^[8] The viaduct was completely shut down during each phase, with the R6 Norristown, R7 Chestnut Hill East, and R8 Fox Chase lines suspended during the shutdown.^[8] Other Reading lines only came as far into the city as the Fern Rock Transportation Center, where riders had to transfer to the Broad Street Subway.^[8] The number of subway trains needed to carry both regular Broad Street Subway riders, as well as passengers transferring to the subway because of RailWorks, exceeded the capacity of the above-ground two-track stub-end Fern Rock Station of the Broad Street line.^[8] In 1993 a loop track was added around the Fern Rock Yard which northbound trains use to approach the station from the rear.^[8] The loop avoids a switch which had caused the bottleneck.

During RailWorks, SEPTA ran several diesel trains during peak-hours from the Reading side branches, along non-electrified Conrail trackage, to 30th Street Station.^[8] Upon the completion of RailWorks, the Reading Viaduct became the "newest" piece of railroad owned by SEPTA, although other projects have since allowed improved service on the ex-Reading side of the system.^[8]

From 1984 to 2010, the regional rail lines were numbered from R1 to R8, with the notable omission of R4. The reasons for this were rather complicated, going back to the original planning stages.

Part of the planning for the Center City Commuter Connection was to decide on how trains would be routed through the tunnel and which branches would be paired up.^[8] The original plan for the system was made by University of Pennsylvania professor Vukan Vuchic, based on the S-Bahn commuter rail systems in Germany.^[8] Numbers were assigned to the PRR-side lines in order from south (Airport) to northeast (Trenton), and the RDG-side matches were chosen to roughly balance ridership, to attempt to avoid trains running full on one side and then running mostly empty on the other. The following lines were recommended:^[17]

• R1 Airport to West Trenton
• R2 Marcus Hook to Warminster
• R3 Media/West Chester to Chestnut Hill West
• R4 Bryn Mawr (on the same tracks as the R5 Paoli) to Fox Chase
• R5 Paoli to Lansdale/Doylestown – express from Center City to Bryn Mawr, with R4 running local
• R6 Ivy Ridge to Norristown
• R7 Trenton to Chestnut Hill East

In addition to the Center City Commuter Connection, it was assumed that SEPTA would build one more connection, the Swampoodle Connection. This would allow PRR-side trains from Chestnut Hill West to join the RDG Norristown line instead of the PRR mainline at North Philadelphia station. The Chestnut Hill West line and the Norristown line run adjacent to each other at that point, in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Swampoodle. The Swampoodle Connection was never built, leading (among other factors) to the following changes:

• R3 could not go to Chestnut Hill West, so R3 trains from Media/West Chester instead went to West Trenton along the R1. Service to Chestnut Hill West was picked up by the R8.
• R4 was dropped; The R5 Paoli runs local along its entire length most of the time, and Fox Chase became half of the R8.
• R8 was added for Fox Chase to Chestnut Hill West service, using the former R4-Fox Chase and R3-Chestnut Hill West halves.

One of the assumptions in this plan was that ridership would increase after the connection was open. Instead, ridership dropped after the 1983 strike. While recent rises in oil prices have resulted in increased rail ridership for daily commuters, many off-peak trains run with few riders. Pairing up the rail lines based on ridership is less relevant today than it was when the system was implemented.

At a later time, R1 was applied to the former RDG tracks, shared with the R2 and R5 lines to Glenside, and R3 to Jenkintown, and R1-Airport trains ran to Glenside rather than becoming R3 trains to West Trenton. In later years, SEPTA became more flexible, and now a decent number of trains change route designations downtown to cope with differences in ridership on various lines.

After the original service patterns were introduced, the following termini changed:

• R2 – Marcus Hook was extended to Wilmington and Newark
• R3 – West Chester was cut back to Elwyn
• R5 – Paoli was extended to Downingtown and Parkesburg, then later cut back to Downingtown, and later re-extended to Thorndale
• R6 – Ivy Ridge was cut back to Cynwyd

When Conrail handled operations on SEPTA's behalf, overall ridership peaked in 1980 with over 373 million unlinked trips per year. The Regional Rail Division carried over 32 million passengers in 1980, a level which was not to be exceeded again for decades. Regional Rail ridership subsequently declined sharply after SEPTA assumed operations in 1983, hitting a new low of just under 13 million passengers. There were several factors that contributed to this severe drop:

• a drawn-out strike by the railroad unions
• discontinuing service to many stations (over 60) and outlying points
• increased fares during a period of decreasing gasoline prices increasing automobile usage
• SEPTA management's unfamiliarity with operating a commuter railroad (a point loudly promoted by displaced Conrail employees after the 1983 takeover)

In 1992, ridership dipped again due to economic factors and due to SEPTA's RailWorks project, which shut down half of the railroad over two periods of several months each in 1992 and 1993. A mild recession in 1992–94 also dampened ridership, but a booming economy in the late 1990s helped increase ridership to near the peak level of 1980.

In 2000, ridership started a slight decline due to the slow economy, but in 2003 ridership started increasing again. The average weekday passenger counts have not increased at the same rate as the total annual passenger counts, which may mean that weekend ridership is increasing.

In 2008, Regional Rail ridership hit an all time high of over 35 million. In 2009, it was down 1% of this high.

The ridership on the Railroad Division per fiscal years 1979–2008:

Since SEPTA assumed full regional rail operations from Conrail in 1983, management has been accused by transit planners and passenger rail proponents of willfully having little understanding of traditional railroad operations or ridership.^[20] In 1998, DVARP commented that SEPTA tends to view its commuter rail operations in transit terms rather than something different, as counterparts such as Metra, New Jersey Transit, MARC Train, Virginia Railway Express and Metro-North Railroad do.^[20] The operation of the dormant Fox Chase-Newtown segment of the Fox Chase Line as a transit operation from 1981–1983—utilizing City Transit personnel instead of members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)—was the most notable example of "transitizing" (i.e. lower pay scale, frequent headways, turnstiles, electrified-only) a traditional railroad line.^[21]

In the late 1990s, SEPTA resisted the commuter rail model used throughout North America when designing the Schuylkill Valley Metro project, initially preferring a light rail alternative for the 62-mile (100 km) line and then shifting to an unprecedented "Metrorail" model when fatal flaws were found in the light rail plan. DVARP called SEPTA's notion of bypassing traditional commuter rail "radical."^[22] SEPTA's bias against conventional commuter rail on shared track forced project costs over $2 billion and led to the rejection by the Federal Transit Administration as being too costly.^[23]

Prior to the 1983 takeover of commuter operations, SEPTA considered running the former Reading Company side of the system from traditional railroad operations to transit-type operations, but dismissed it as unfeasible for the short term.^[20] If converted to a transit-like operation , the regional rail system would operate outside of the U.S. railroad network, freeing it from most railroad-oriented federal regulations, including railroad work rules, federal safety equipment inspection requirements, and Railroad Retirement.^[20]

In 1995, several proposals were drafted by state legislators to create a state rail passenger service authority that would oversee all commuter rail operations throughout the commonwealth.^[24] The goal was to relieve SEPTA of its management duties while the commonwealth concentrated on growing the currently constrained Regional Rail network. SEPTA's services would be utilized to operate the trains only.^[24]

Beginning in 2005, SEPTA started to convert many derelict railway lines under their ownership into walking trails.^[25] Rail proponents, such as the Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC) commented in 2010 that the trails were hastily constructed—such as the Pennypack Trail Extension (gravel vs. pavement, single access points)—in order to erase any presence of a railway.^[25] As of 2011, the following former routes are acting as interim rail trails:

As traffic congestion in the Delaware Valley grew throughout the 1990s, resuming passenger service on SEPTA's unused lines was seen as a tool to battle the trend.^[8] No other transit agency in North American has converted their unused rail lines into trails in the capacity that SEPTA has.^[32] Public transit advocates—most notably PA-TEC—voiced their opposition in 2011 to the removal of the tracks as there are no notable instances in the U.S. of a rail trail converting back to rails.^[25][32]

Suggestions by PA-TEC to convert the lines into rails with trails were seen by SEPTA officials as a safety hazard.^[32] The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia also agreed that while trails serve a good purpose, "there is sufficient right-of-way available to support both future rail service and maintain trail usage. If there is insufficient right-of-way within the corridor to do both, then a relocation or rerouting of the trail to preserve the non-motorized route is necessary."^[33]

In 2010, John Pawson, author of Delaware Valley Rails: The Railroads and Rail Transit Lines of the Philadelphia Areaquestioned why SEPTA is heavily involved with rail trails instead of public transit. Pawson, who was head of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Regional Citizens Committee until February 2011, stated that the creation of the Pennypack Trail on the Fox Chase/Newtown line is a "relatively cheap and quick process" but that "cheapness is its only advantage."^[34] Pawson added that "the trail as built essentially runs from nowhere to nowhere. A relatively high-grade piece of infrastructure has been diverted (temporarirly, one would hope) to a relatively low-grade purpose. It's like taking over an expressway to use for someone's driveway."^[34]

Pawson concluded by saying "there is no need to pull up any more track. This real creek-side Pennypack Trail through Montgomery County and the restoration of the rail line in that county and beyond could be considered as a single valid political issue. Various groups including rail and trail proponents and others should work together for a joint project."^[34]

In March 2011, PA-TEC requested that SEPTA consider demarking their four dormant railroad lines acting as rail trails with signage. PA-TEC was willing to work with the transit agency on this project, in hopes of maintain a high profile for the dormant rail corridors.^[32] Their request was based on a federal study completed by the National Transportation Research Board in 2007, which stated that such signage gives "notice to adjacent landowners and the public generally that an interim period of low-impact or recreational use does not proscribe future development of active passenger or freight rail activity. Provisions may include large, conspicuous signage along the trail alignments and/or disclosure requirements for adjoining property sale transactions that make clear the potential future use of the [rail] corridors in question."^[35]

SEPTA rejected PA-TEC's request, believing the benefits of such "signage was deemed non-existent, since SEPTA's rights to the out-of-service rights-of-way (ROW) are clearly protected as matters of real estate/railroad law, as well as the individual lease with the County. The same would apply to any other recreational trails presently being used by municipalities over SEPTA out-of-service railroad ROW's." SEPTA concluded that the expense of installing signs, "no matter how small, for the sole purpose of demarcating SEPTA's otherwise well established legal ownership rights in the ROW, cannot be financially justified."^[25] This position was echoed by Rina Cutler, Philadelphia Deputy Mayor of Transportation.^[32]

PA-TEC responded in the press by calling SEPTA's response "an act resembling Pontius Pilate", stating that SEPTA was "going against their enabling legislation per Pennsylvania State Law."^[36] PA-TEC added that SEPTA "has washed their hands of the (Fox Chase/Newtown) line by refusing to associate their name with it in public.^[25] Without any analysis, SEPTA has rejected a taxpayer funded federal study that provides specific recommendations that best preserve dormant railways."^[25][32]

The transit advocacy group added that they are "concerned that SEPTA is creating an additional constituency resistant to putting rails on a (SEPTA) owned ROW, in this case the trail users," concluding that "the trail use will create an additional avenue of resistance even for those who would never be trail users. NIMBYs... will be avid trail users, not for the sake of the trail, but to prevent rail use."^[32]

This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (November 2010)

• 1966: SEPTA begins contracts with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company to subsidize commuter lines.
• 1974–1976: SEPTA orders and takes delivery of Silverliner IV M.U.s
• 1976: Conrail takes over bankrupt railroads and continues providing commuter services for SEPTA.
• 1979: Diesel service between Bethlehem-Allentown is discontinued.^[8] R2 Naamans Road Station closes.
• 1980: 52nd Street Station closes. Service extended from Cynwyd to new high-level station at Ivy Ridge.
• July 1, 1981: Diesel service from Fox Chase-Newtown, Quakertown-Bethlehem and Norristown-Pottstown/Reading/Pottsville is discontinued due lack of funding from PennDOT, approved by Governor Dick Thornburgh.^[8] R2 Baldwin Station closes. R5 Exton Station opens. Fares increased.
• July 29, 1981: Lansdale-Quakertown diesel shuttle discontinued.^[8]
• October 5, 1981: Diesel service between Fox Chase-Newtown resumes as the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line.^[8]
• January 1, 1983: SEPTA assumes full operation of commuter lines from Conrail.^[8]
• January 14, 1983: Diesel service from Fox Chase-Newtown—SEPTA's last diesel operated line—is discontinued due to failing train equipment; service replaced with busses until electrification is completed (as of 2010, electrification has not occurred).^[8] R5 Downingtown Station opens. R8 Westmoreland Station closes.
• March 15, 1983: BLET calls a strike that lasts 108 days.
• July 3, 1983: Strike ends: normal rail service resumes.
• November 6, 1984: Service to Reading Terminal ends in anticipation of the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection six days later.^[37]
• November 12, 1984: The Center City Commuter Connection opens.^[37]
• November 16, 1984: The Columbia Avenue (now Cecil B. Moore Avenue) bridge near old Temple University Station found to be unsafe, putting all four tracks out of service north of Market East Station.^[37]
• December 1984: Temporary bridge opens, allowing service to resume north of Market East Station.^[37]
• April 28, 1985: R1 service to Philadelphia International Airport begins.^[37]
• May 17, 1986: R6 service between Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge is discontinued.^[8]
• September 16, 1986: R3 service between Elwyn-West Chester is discontinued.^[8]
• 1990: R5 service extended from Downingtown to Coatesville and Parkesburg.
• 1990: Reading-era "Blueliner" and PRR-era Pioneer III/Silverliner I M.U.s retired.
• March 12, 1992: New Fern Rock Station opens, replacing both the old Fern Rock and Tabor stations.
• 1992: First phase of RailWorks, a project to reconstruct several bridges and viaducts on the former Reading Company's main line in North Philadelphia, shuts down the railroad between Market East and Fern Rock stations for six months.
• May 2, 1993: Second and last phase of Railworks begins.
• September 9, 1993: Second and last phase of Railworks ends.
• November 10, 1996: R5 service to Parkesburg is truncated to Downingtown. Fellwick, Fishers, Fulmor, and Shawmont Stations close.
• March 21, 1997: Parking added to Exton Station, adding 116 spaces at a cost of $300,000.
• 1997: Eastwick Station opens on the R1 Airport line.
• 2002: SEPTA announces the planned building of 104 new "Silverliner V" m.u. cars to replace aging Budd-built "Silverliner II" and St. Louis Company-built "Silverliner III" cars. New cars, identical to the GE-built "Silverliner IV" cars, will have wider seats and a center-opening door for easier boarding or departing at high-level platform stations in Center City.
• 2003: R2 Lamokin and R7 Wissinoming stations close.
• 2006: SEPTA approves contract for Hyundai Rotem to build 104 new "Silverliner V" cars. SEPTA also started negotiations with Wawa Food Markets to purchase land in Wawa, Pennsylvania to build a new Park-and-Ride facility for a planned restoration of service between Elwyn and Wawa on Media/Elwyn Line.
• July 2008: single track in Abington Township section of former Fox Chase-Newtown line is removed for Pennypack Trail Extension.
• October 2008: double track between Coopersburg and Hellertown section of former Quakertown-Bethlehem line is dismantled for a trail.
• June 2009: double track between Cynwyd and Pencoyd Viaduct section of former Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge line is dismantled for Cynwyd Heritage Trail.^[26]
• February 2010: First three Silverliner V cars arrive in Philadelphia, as well as nine shells to be assembled at the Hyundai Rotem plant.
• June 2010: double track between Pencoyd Viaduct and high-level Ivy Ridge Station along former Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge line is dismantled for Ivy Ridge Trail.^[27]
• July 25, 2010: R-numbering system is dropped and each branch is named after its primary termini.^[38]
• October 29, 2010: First set of Silverliner V cars begin revenue service, following a press event at Suburban Station.^[39]

• Beeching Axe

• Pawson, John R. (1979). Delaware Valley Rails: The Railroads and Rail Transit Lines of the Philadelphia Area. Pawson. ISBN 0960208003.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SEPTA Regional Rail.

• SEPTA.org – SEPTA official website
• Silverliner V Technical Specification PDF
• NYCsubway.org – SEPTA Regional Rail Lines
• PENNWAYS – Center City Commuter Connection
• Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC)
• Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers (DVARP)
• Stan's Railpix: SEPTA Photo Pages.
• SEPTA Train Schedules: effective November 7, 2010
• SEPTA Regional Rail Schedule (unofficial)
• Service expansion proposal from Fox Chase to Newtown website