Philadelphia Transportation Thread

[Nexis4Jersey]

Something I posted on reddit last year thought Id share..

Part 1 - Urban & Urbanized Suburban Rail

Delaware Valley Regional Transit Authority , My Transit Vision for the Region

My Transit Vision for the Delaware River Valley , the merging of SEPTA , PATCO and the Southern New Jersey Transit Divisions into a New Agency called DVRTA or Delaware Valley Regional Transit Authority. I’m not a fan of the way SEPTA is so poorly run at least on the higher up level , the employees the most part aren’t the problem in my opinion. Seeing how they are the only system that has not expanded in the last 20 years beyond a few small restorations compared to other neighboring agencies. Its very painful to see all the abandoned trackage or trackage that is used for rail trails while the highways in the region increasingly clog with congestion. The South Jersey Rail network is in a similar state as Trenton ignores its potential , and has not advanced any of the RiverLINE extensions which would greatly boost ridership.

It has taken me over 6 years to slowly build out and tweak this map which I consider the Rough draft for the final version that will be created with Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer and posted in PDF format. In about a year or so. I’m no stranger to the Philly Region or South Jersey have ridden just about every Rail line with the exception of Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36 , Broad Street Spur , Doylestown Branch , Warminster Branch , Newark/Wilmington , and Cynwyd Line which I hope to all Ride on by next Summer. I've taken over 2600 photos across Philadelphia , Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

The Map

Click the links below to scroll through them

SEPTA – 356 Photos : Philadelphia – 800 Photos : Pennsylvania – 1024 Photos : New Jersey - 3,204 Photos : PATCO High Speed Line – 22 Photos : RiverLINE – 80 Photos : Atlantic City Line – 15 Photos

Financing the system and the expansions

Given the looming funding crisis about to happen to SEPTA in 2023 I would implement a Congestion pricing zone from Washington Ave to Girard charging up 10$ during rush hour and 5$ off peak. Local Deliveries would be exempt which should reduce the burden on local businesses. I would also lease air rights above the Powelton , Overbrook ,and any Depressed section of Septa trackage for high density mixed use Redevelopment which how a few systems in Asia fund themselves. I would create a mini underground shopping space in the super concourse at Walnut–Locust station similar to the Turnstyle hipster mall at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station in Midtown Manhattan.

Reducing Costs , Adding Service , New Signals , Misc

To reduce the costs while expanding the system I would Fully automate the Patco High Speed Line , Norristown High Speed Line , Broad Street Subway and Market-Frankford EL which would allow for the doubling of service off peak , weekends and holidays without increasing operational costs. Platform Screen doors would be installed at every station to prevent debris and people from falling onto the tracks and causing delays. Train service would run every 2 mins on the MFL , Every 5mins for a Broad Street Local and every 10mins for an Express and Norristown HSL service.

To Reduce the overcrowding on the MFL I would purchase Open Gangway train sets which are standard on Metro Systems outside the US and are the cheapest way to increase capacity in the short term without adding more service. Some of the Newer Open Gangway trains have passenger load sensors that relay the information to monitors on the station platforms. Each Station would have countdown clocks and Delay information on overhead monitors along with Climate controlled stations along the MFL at all Center City Stations which is one of the benefits of having Platform screen doors.

New Super Trolleys would operate on the Subway-Surface division similar to these used in Toronto with extra articulating sections to deal with the tight tunnel curves. Restored routes such as the 23, 45 ,50 ,56 , or the in service Route 15 would use new low floor Streetcars such as these used in Milwaukee , Seattle , or DC better suited high usage routes with more street congestion.

I would Switch out the regular turnstiles for chest high swing doors for the Regional Rail at University City , 30th Street Station , Suburban Station , Market East Station and Temple University. Along with installing high level platforms at every Suburban Station which would for high capacity train sets to be purchased and lower dwell times at each stations.

To combat Fare evasion I propose installing platform screen doors and chest high swing door fare gates along the RiverLINE and all of the proposed LRT lines. This method is common place on newer systems in Latin America and Asia.

City of Philadelphia

Subway Expansions


-Roosevelt Boulevard Subway : 13 miles – 11 Stations , Connection to MFL Extension at Bustleton & Roosevelt

-Germantown Subway : 2 miles – 4 Stations , Connections to Suburban Rail at Wayne JCT and Route 23 Trolley

-Northwest & South Subway Extension : 14 miles – 24 Stations , Connections to Suburban Rail at Manayunk and Wissahickon , Cross City Trolley at York Street - Strawberry Mansion , Route 15 Trolley at Ridge & Girard Ave , Broad Street Subway at Fairmount Avenue , PATCO , MFL at 8th & Market , Broad Street Subway at Broad & Washington , South Philly LRT at Grays Ferry , Route 11 & 36 Trolley at South 49th street , Route 36 Trolley and Suburban Rail at Eastwick Transportation Center , , Broad Street Subway and Suburban Rail at Philadelphia Airport

-PATCO West Extension : 7 miles – 13 Stations , Connections to MFL at 34th Street - University JCT , Route 15 Trolley at Girard Avenue, Route 10 Trolley and Suburban Services at 52nd Street , City Ave LRT at Bala

-Airport BSL Extension : 5 miles – 3 Stations , Connections to Naval Yard Trolley at Naval Yard , Southwest Subway and Suburban Rail at Philadelphia Airport

Service Patterns

-Broad Street Local – Fern Rock to PHL Airport

-Broad Street Express – Fern Rock to Walnut–Locust

-Germantown Branch - Chelten Ave to Local to PHL Airport

-Germantown Branch – Chelten Ave to PHL Airport via Broad Street Express / Local South Philly

-Roosevelt Boulevard Subway - Turnpike Park & Ride Local to Hunting Park , Express to Walnut-Locust

-Northwest/South Subway – Manayunk – PHL Airport

Trolley / Streetcar / Light Rail Restorations and Expansions

-Route 15 Extension to Frankford Terminal

-Route 23 Trolley Restoration

-Route 60 Trolley Restoration

-Route 56 Trolley Restoration

-Route 45 Trolley Restorations

-North Philly CrossCity Trolley (Fishtown to Wynnefield Heights via the Strawberry-Mansion Bridge)

-City Avenue Light Rail (69th Street Terminal to Wissahickon Transportation Center)

-City Branch Light Rail Tunnel , allowing for express Route 15 Trolleys and Waterfront Trolley service from West Philly

-East Trolley (Fishtown / Old City to Oregon Ave)

-Passyunk Trolley (Elmwood to Whitman) South Philly LRT to Center City Via the Subway-Surface Tunnel and the lightly used Conrail viaduct in South Philly connecting to the Glassboro/Millville Line via a Tunnel under the Delaware

Historic Trolleys , using restored streetcars similar to Muni Routes E&F in San Francisco

-Historic Trolley Route Route G : Chestnut Hill to Wayne Junction Station

-Historic Trolley Route Route C : Girard Ave to Oregon Ave

Philly Suburbs

Light Rail Expansions

-Restoration of Trolley Route 103 to Ardmore from 69th Street Terminal

-Restoration of Trolley Route 104 to Newtown Square from 69th street Terminal

-Norristown High Speed Line to KOP

South Jersey

Subway expansion

-Maple Shade PATCO Extension : 6 miles – 8 stations , Connections to Suburban Rail service at Maple Shade , Suburban Rail Service at Merchantville

Light Rail / Interurban Expansion , using low floor DMUs similar to these

-West Trenton RiverLine Extension : 5 miles – 7 Stations , Connections to Suburban Rail Service , Amtrak at Trenton Transit Center and Suburban Rail Service at West Trenton

-Penns Grove LRT : 20 miles – 5 Stations , Connections to South Philly LRT and Glassboro/Vineland Line at Woodbury

-South Philly LRT , continues along the Glassboro/Vineland Line to Glassboro in Battery or Hydrogen Mode on the NJ side.

Glassboro/Vineland Line : 57 miles – 17 Stations , Connections to Suburban Rail Service at Vineland Transportation Center , South Philly LRT at Glassboro , Penns Grove LRT at Woodbury

So what do you think?