West Trenton Line (SEPTA)

West Trenton Line
Langhorne station on the West Trenton Line.
Overview
Type Commuter rail
System SEPTA Regional Rail
Status Operating
Termini University City
West Trenton
Stations 23
Daily ridership 12,711[1]:94
Website septa.org
Operation
Operator(s) SEPTA Regional Rail
Rolling stock Electric Multiple Units
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification Catenary
Route map
University City
 30th Street Station Amtrak NJ Transit
Suburban Station
 Jefferson Station
 Reading Terminal
Closed 1984
Spring Garden Street
Closed 1984
 Temple University
 Manayunk/Norristown Line
 Wayne Junction
 Chestnut Hill East Line
 Fox Chase Line
 Fern Rock Transportation Center
Broad Street Line
 Melrose Park
 Elkins Park
 Jenkintown-Wyncote
Warminster Line
Lansdale/Doylestown Line
 Noble
 Rydal
 Meadowbrook
 Newtown Line
 Bethayres
 Philmont
 Forest Hills
 Somerton
 Trevose
 Neshaminy Falls
 CSX Trenton Subdivision
 Langhorne
 Fairless Junction
Closed
 CSAO Fairless Branch
Freight only
 Woodbourne
 NS Trenton Cutoff
 Roelofs
Closed
 Yardley
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
 West Trenton
Discontinued in 1982
Discontinued in 1982
CSX Trenton Subdivision
 Pennington
 Hopewell
 Belle Mead
 Hillsborough
 Raritan Valley Line
 Bound Brook NJ Transit
 Newark Penn Station Amtrak NJ Transit

The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey.

Route

Outbound train on the West Trenton Line between the Meadowbrook and Bethayres stations

The West Trenton Line connects Center City, Philadelphia with the West Trenton section of Ewing, New Jersey .The line splits from the SEPTA Main Line at Jenkintown, running northeast. At Bethayres, it crosses the Pennypack Trail that runs along the former Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad, which once connected with the Fox Chase Line. At Oakford, the former New York Short Line Railroad, once part of the Reading's main line to West Trenton and Jersey City and currently CSX's Trenton Subdivision, merges. North of Oakford, the West Trenton Line follows CSX's Trenton Subdivision and track operations are controlled using CSX radio frequencies. The West Trenton Railroad Bridge, a concrete arch bridge, crosses the Delaware River to the final stop at West Trenton.

History

West Trenton station

Like all of the Reading Company's commuter lines, the West Trenton Line was electrified in the early 1930s and has a mix of at-grade and grade separated crossings. Electrified service to West Trenton was opened on July 26, 1931. The RDG planned to also electrify tracks between West Trenton and the CNJ Terminal in Jersey City for long-distance service, but had to drop plans for electrification outside of the commuter service area due to economic setbacks as a result of the Great Depression.

The line north of the split at Jenkintown was originally built as the National Railway project, opened on May 1, 1876, to provide an alternate to the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Companies' monopoly over Philadelphia-New York City travel. From Jenkintown to the Delaware River it was built by the North Pennsylvania Railroad as a branch, while the New Jersey section was built by the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad, merging with the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Bound Brook. In addition to the Reading Company, which leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1879, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad also used the line for passenger and freight service to New York City, including its famed Royal Blue service. In 1976 the Reading merged into Conrail, and in 1983 SEPTA took over operations.

Prior to 1981, limited service continued north to Newark, New Jersey (Jersey City prior to the Aldene Plan of the 1960s), using Budd Company-built Diesel multiple units. This service was the last remains of the Reading's Crusader service, which began in 1937 using streamlined steam locomotives and passenger cars.SEPTA ended service beyond West Trenton on August 1, 1981; connecting NJT diesel service lasted until December 1982.[2][3] NJT has since considered service resumption on their West Trenton Line.[4]

Beginning in 1984 the route was designated R1 West Trenton as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. West Trenton Line trains operated through the city center to the Airport Line on the ex-Pennsylvania side of the system.[5] In later years this behavior changed; the line was designated R3 West Trenton and trains continued on to the Media/Elwyn Line on weekdays and the Airport Line on weekends.[6] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.[7] As of 2017, most West Trenton Line trains operate to Elwyn on the Media/Elwyn Line.[8]

SEPTA activated positive train control on the West Trenton Line on October 24, 2016.[9]

Stations

Passenger Schedule (eff. 1974-09-30) of Reading Railway and Central of New Jersey joint service between Newark, N.J. and Phila. Reading Terminal via Belle Mead, N.J. on today's SEPTA West Trenton Line and NJT Raritan Valley Line.

The West Trenton Line includes the following stations north of the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with a gray background are closed.

Zone
[10]		 Station Miles (km)
from Center City		 Date
opened		 Date
closed		 Connections / notes[11]
C Temple University 2.1 miles (3.4 km)     SEPTA: All Regional Rail lines
1 Wayne Junction 5.1 miles (8.2 km)     SEPTA: Chestnut Hill East Line, Fox Chase Line, Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line, 2, 23, 53, 75
Logan October 4, 1992[12] Logan was one of four stations discontinued by SEPTA on October 4, 1992.[12]
Tabor
Fern Rock Transportation Center 7.3 miles (11.7 km)     SEPTA: Broad Street Line, Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line, 4, 28, 57, 70
Philadelphia city line
2 Melrose Park 8.4 miles (13.5 km)     SEPTA: Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line
Elkins Park 9.2 miles (14.8 km)     SEPTA: Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line, 28
3 Jenkintown–Wyncote 10.8 miles (17.4 km)     SEPTA: Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line, 77
Noble 12.0 miles (19.3 km)     SEPTA: 55
Rydal 12.8 miles (20.6 km)    
Meadowbrook 13.8 miles (22.2 km)    
Bethayres 15.1 miles (24.3 km)     SEPTA: 88
Philmont 16.4 miles (26.4 km)    
Philadelphia city line
Forest Hills 17.7 miles (28.5 km)     SEPTA: 84
Somerton 18.2 miles (29.3 km)     SEPTA: 58, 84
Philadelphia city line
Trevose 19.9 miles (32.0 km)    
Neshaminy Falls 21.1 miles (34.0 km)     SEPTA: 58
Parkland
4 Langhorne 23.9 miles (38.5 km)     SEPTA: 14, 130
Woodbourne 26.4 miles (42.5 km)    
Yardley 30.8 miles (49.6 km)    
Delaware River; Pennsylvania–New Jersey state line
NJ West Trenton 32.5 miles (52.3 km)     NJ Transit Bus: 608

Originally continued out to Newark, NJ until 1981.

Ridership

Between FY 2008–FY 2014 yearly ridership on the West Trenton Line held steady at 3.5 million.[1]:94[13][14][15][16][17][18]

1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
FY 2008
FY 2009
FY 2010
FY 2011
FY 2012
FY 2013
FY 2014

References

  1. 1 2 "Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. June 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, NJ: Railpace Company. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1. OCLC 43543368.
  3. ↑ Pawson, John (March 1993). "New Backing for "Crusader" Route". The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger. Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers. 13 (3).
  4. ↑ "Chapter 1: Purpose and Need" (PDF). Proposed Restoration of Passenger Rail Service on the West Trenton Line Draft Environmental Assessment. New Jersey Transit. November 2007. p. 1-1.
  5. ↑ Vuchic, Vukan; Kikuchi, Shinya (1984). General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System. Philadelphia: SEPTA. pp. 2–8.
  6. ↑ "R3 West Trenton" (PDF). SEPTA. June 21, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  7. ↑ Lustig, David (November 2010). "SEPTA makeover". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing: 26.
  8. ↑ "West Trenton Line" (PDF). SEPTA. September 10, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Positive Train Control Update". SEPTA. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  10. ↑ "West Trenton Line Timetable" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. September 10, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Trenton Line Timetable" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. September 10, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "New Rail Schedules Set". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 2, 1992. p. 36. Retrieved October 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2014. p. 60. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2013. p. 44. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. May 2012. p. 55. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. July 2011. p. 94. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. June 2010. p. 70. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  18. ↑ "FY 2010 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. June 2009. p. 63. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.