Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

Helping orphans the way you would do it

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, SEPTA for short, is a regional quasi-public state agency that operates bus, subway, commuter rail, trolley (streetcar), and trackless trolley service in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.

The city transit system was formerly owned and operated by the Philadelphia Transportation Company (known as the PTC) until 1968, and before that the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (the PRT). The region's suburban bus and trolley lines were operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (also called the Red Arrow Lines), the Schuylkill Valley Lines, and a handful of other smaller companies into the 1970s.

Table of contents

1 Subway Service
2 Norristown High Speed Line
3 Regional Rail Lines
4 The R4 Line

Subway Service

The city's two subway lines are:

The Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated (also known as the "El" or the "Blue Line," abbreviated "MFSE" or "MFL"), which runs from 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby, adjacent to West Philadelphia, to the neighborhood of Frankford, in Northeast Philadelphia. The Market-Frankford line is sometimes called the "El" because two large sections of the line run above street level, connected by a stretch of subway beneath the downtown (Center City). The "El" connects with the PATCO High-Speed Line to Camden and the New Jersey suburbs at the 8th Street station (additional fare required for transfer).
The Broad Street Subway (also known as the "Orange Line", abbreviated "BSS"), which runs from Fern Rock Station in the extreme northern reaches of the city to Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. The Broad Street Line runs underground for its entire length, with the exception of a short span from Olney Station to the end of the line at Fern Rock. This line is popular with sports fans, as it provides direct service to the city's stadium complex. Connections to PATCO's High-Speed Line to the New Jersey suburbs are available at Walnut-Locust station (additional fare required to transfer).
A spur of the Orange Line, known as the Broad-Ridge Spur, runs from Fern Rock station (north of City Hall) to a hub at 8th and Market Streets, where it links to the Blue Line. As mentioned, connection to the PATCO High-Speed Line is available here.

The two lines intersect at Philadelphia City Hall, where a free interchange exists which includes the "Green Line" ("subway-surface" trolley line). See also the List of Philadelphia subway stations.

Norristown High Speed Line

The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), designated as Route 100 of the Suburban Transit Division, is a light rail line operating between Norristown Transportation Center and 69th Street Terminal, running entirely on its own right of way, inherited from the Philadelphia and Western Railroad, an interurban railroad. See also the list of stations on the Norristown High Speed Line.

Regional Rail Lines

SEPTA also operates a number of trains, known as the Regional Rail Lines to and from places in the metropolitan area. All seven of them pass through 30th Street Station, Suburban Station, and Market East Station in Center City as part of their route. The regional lines run on former Pennsylvania Railroad and Reading Railroad tracks. Lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad ended at Suburban Station, while the lines of Reading Railroad ended at Reading Terminal.

The R1 line runs from Philadelphia International Airport to Glenside.
The R2 line runs from Wilmington, Delaware to Warminster.
The R3 line runs from Elwyn to West Trenton station in Ewing, New Jersey.
The R5 line runs from Doylestown to Thorndale. This line is the namesake of Philadelphia's affluent "Main Line" area.
The R6 line runs from Norristown to Bala Cynwyd.
The R7 line runs from eastern Chestnut Hill to Trenton, New Jersey. This line offers an inexpensive connection to New York via New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line.
The R8 line runs from Fox Chase to western Chestnut Hill.

The R4 Line

SEPTA's regional lines are numbered R1 to R8, with the R4 missing. Originally, when SEPTA was planning its regional lines, an R4 line was planned between Fox Chase and Bryn Mawr. However, during construction, it was decided to link the Paoli to Downingtown and the Lansdale to Doylestown lines. Together, they make up the R5 line. By the time this decision was made, it was too late to renumber the lines. (Source: Philadelphia Weekly)

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Official Website