Airport Line (SEPTA)

Airport Line
An Airport Line train after departing 30th Street Station
Overview
Type Commuter rail
System SEPTA Regional Rail
Status Operating
Termini Philadelphia International Airport Terminals
Temple University
Stations 10
Daily ridership 6,835[1]
Website septa.org
Operation
Opened 1985
Operator(s) SEPTA Regional Rail
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification Catenary
Route map

 Terminals E & F
 Terminals C & D
 Terminal B
 Terminal A East/West
Fare Zone
4
1
I-95
Chester Secondary
 Eastwick
Chester Secondary
Fare Zone
1
C
Wilmington/Newark Line
& Amtrak NEC
Media/Elwyn Line
 University City
 30th Street Station
Amtrak NJ Transit
Schuylkill River
 Suburban Station
Metro interchange
 Jefferson Station
Metro interchange
 Temple University
Warminster Line
to Glenside or Warminster

The Airport Line (formerly the R1 Airport) is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which officially runs between Philadelphia International Airport through Center City to Temple University station. In practice, however, only a few trains originate or terminate at Temple; most are through routed with lines to the north, primarily the Warminster Line, with some through-routed trains originating and terminating at Glenside.

The line between Center City and the airport runs seven days a week from 5:00 AM to midnight with trains every 30 minutes. The trip length from Suburban Station to the airport is 19 to 24 minutes.

Route

Geographic map of the route

While geographically on the former Pennsylvania Railroad side of the Regional Rail System, the route consists of new construction, a reconstructed industrial branch of the former Pennsylvania Railroad, and a shared Conrail (formerly Reading Company) freight branch. The Airport Line opened on April 28, 1985, as SEPTA R1, providing service from Center City to the Philadelphia International Airport. By its twentieth anniversary in 2005, the line had carried over 20 million passengers to and from the airport. The line splits from Amtrak's Northeast Corridor north of Darby and passes over it via a flying junction. West of the airport, the line breaks from the old right-of-way and a new bridge carries it over I-95 and into the airport terminals between the baggage claim (arrivals) and the check-in counters (departures).

The line stops at four stations which are directly connected to each airport terminal by escalators and elevators which rise one level to the walkways between the arrival and departure areas. All airport stations feature high-level platforms to make it easier to board and alight from the train with luggage. Some stations can be accessed directly from the arrivals concourse by crossing Commercial Vehicles Road. The line ends between Terminals E and F at their combined station.

Stations

An Airport Line train bound for Center City Philadelphia stops at the Airport Terminal A station

The Airport Line makes the following station stops, after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection. All stations are in the City and County of Philadelphia.

Zone
[2]		 Station Miles (km)
from Center City		 Date
opened		 Date
closed		 Connections / notes
C University City 1.8 miles (2.9 km)  1995   SEPTA: Media/Elwyn Line, Warminster Line, West Trenton Line, Wilmington/Newark Line; 40, LUCY
1 Eastwick 7.2 miles (11.6 km)  1997   SEPTA: 37, 68, 108, 115
4 Airport Terminal A 9.1 miles (14.6 km)  1985   SEPTA: 37, 108, 115
Airport Terminal B  1985   SEPTA: 37, 108, 115
Airport Terminals C & D 9.3 miles (15.0 km)  1985   SEPTA: 37, 108, 115
Airport Terminals E & F 9.4 miles (15.1 km)  1985   SEPTA: 37, 108, 115

History

R1, the former designation of SEPTA's Airport Line

The line south of the Northeast Corridor was originally part of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad main line, opened on January 17, 1838. The connection between the NEC and the original PW&B is made however by the later 60th Street Branch. A new alignment of the PW&B (now the NEC) opened November 18, 1872, and on July 1, 1873, the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, later the Reading Company, leased the old line for 999 years. Connection was made over the PRR's Junction Railroad and later the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad. However, as a condition of the sale, no passenger service was provided. The line passed into Conrail in 1976 and SEPTA in 1983, with passenger service to the Airport beginning on April 28, 1985.[3]

Infill stations were planned from the beginning of service, two of which were on the Airport Line proper: one at 70th Street, the other one at 84th Street. The latter station was opened in 1997 as Eastwick, while 70th Street was never built, and has since disappeared from maps. Additionally, University City station (proposed as "Civic Center") opened in April 1995 to serve all R1, R2 and R3 trains passing it. All these stations appeared on 1984 SEPTA informational maps, the first ones to show the Center City Commuter Connection and the Airport Line.

SEPTA activated positive train control on the Airport Line on October 10, 2016.[4]

Ridership

Ridership by fiscal year:

Fiscal year Average weekday Annual passengers
FY 20136,5502,247,817[5]
FY 20126,1672,116,435[6]
FY 20115,5601,908,070[7]
FY 20106,9072,282,273[8]
FY 20096,4302,126,415[9]
FY 20086,0732,003,900[10]
FY 20054,0171,270,082
FY 20043,9421,106,581
FY 20033,5311,262,600
FY 2001n/a1,276,000
FY 2000n/a1,258,000
FY 1999n/a1,068,000
FY 1997n/a1,077,737
FY 1996n/a1,017,262
FY 19952,617831,043
FY 19942,240742,824
FY 19931,678632,471
Note: n/a = not available

References

  1. ↑ "Proposed Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Service Plan. p. 98" (PDF). SEPTA. April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Airport Line Timetable" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. September 10, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  3. ↑ "SEPTA – Airport Line – Celebrating 25 Years".
  4. ↑ "Positive Train Control Update". SEPTA. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  5. ↑ "SEPTA (May 2014). Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Service Plan. p. 60" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-12.  (539 KiB)
  6. ↑ "SEPTA (May 2013). Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Service Plan. p. 44" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-22.
  7. ↑ "SEPTA (May 2012). Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Service Plan. p. 55" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-24.  (539 KiB)
  8. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  • "SEPTA – Airport Line schedule" (PDF).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.