PATCO Speedline

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PATCO Speedline
Info
Type	Rapid transit
Locale	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden County, New Jersey
Terminals	15–16th & Locust (westbound) Lindenwold (eastbound)
No. of stations	13
Daily ridership	38,000
Operation
Opened	June 7, 1936
Owner	Delaware River Port Authority
Operator(s)	Port Authority Transit Corporation
Character	Underground and surface (grade separated)
Technical
Line length	14.2 mi (22.9 km)
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Line map 15–16th & Locust 12–13th & Locust 9–10th & Locust 8th & Market Franklin Square (closed) DELAWARE RIVER City Hall Broadway (Walter Rand) Ferry Avenue Collingswood Westmont Haddonfield Woodcrest     Ashland Lindenwold Map Legend SEPTA Broad Street Line SEPTA Market–Frankford Line NJ Transit River Line NJ Transit Atlantic City Line Accessible station

The PATCO Speedline is a rapid transit system operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation, which runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden County, New Jersey. The Speedline runs underground in Philadelphia, crosses the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, runs underground in Camden, then runs above ground in New Jersey until the east end of the line. The Port Authority Transit Corporation and the Speedline are owned and controlled by the Delaware River Port Authority. Speedline operation began on February 15, 1969, with the first trip from Lindenwold, New Jersey, to Center City, Philadelphia. The line transports over 33,000 people daily,^[1] and operates 24 hours a day.

Contents 1 History 2 Trains and cars 2.1 Rolling Stock 2.2 Operation 2.3 Cabin 2.3.1 Upcoming Refurbishment 2.4 Route identification 2.5 Power 3 Fare collection 3.1 Magnetic system 3.2 Freedom system 4 Connections to other transit systems 4.1 New Jersey Transit connections 4.2 SEPTA connections 4.3 Amtrak connections 5 Union representation 6 Station list 7 See also 8 References 9 Notes 10 External links

[edit] History

The modern-day PATCO Speedline is composed of several separate rail lines, some dating back to the early 20th century. The Ben Franklin Bridge was designed to accommodate rail as well as road traffic; when it opened on July 1, 1926, it had two outboard structures under the main roadway for rail (in addition to two never-used streetcar tracks on the main roadway). Construction of the rail line didn't actually begin until 1932, and the Bridge Line opened on June 7, 1936. Relatively short, it only had four stations: 8th Street and Franklin Square in Philadelphia (the latter now closed) and City Hall and Broadway in Camden (connecting to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines at Broadway). Service was soon extended north along the Broad-Ridge Spur and Broad Street Line from 8th Street to Girard station.

In Philadelphia, the tunnel known as the Locust Street Subway was built from 8th Street to 18th Street in 1931, but tracks were not laid. 1936 plans to extend the tunnel west to 49th Street never surfaced. Trains didn't run through the tunnel until February 10, 1952, which now ends at 8th and Market station. The last train ran from this line onto the Broad Street Line on August 23, 1968, and the line was reconfigured as a rerouting of the Bridge Line.^[2] This section is owned by SEPTA, and leased by PATCO.^[3]

The rest of the line from Camden to Lindenwold opened on February 15, 1969 along former Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines trackage. Woodcrest Station was added later, in 1980, between the existing Haddonfield and Ashland stations. In 2005, PATCO officials started talks of building a spur from the main PATCO line that would serve Gloucester County and end in Glassboro on the grounds of Rowan University (formerly Glassboro State College).^[4]

[edit] Trains and cars

[edit] Rolling Stock

PATCO operates 121 cars of two different types which were acquired in three separate orders. The first two sets were the original cars, and they arrived in 1968. Cars numbered 101-125 are single cars, and cars numbered 201-250 are paired cars that cannot be detached from their partner car. These sets were designed and manufactured by Budd. The third set, delivered in 1980, and numbered 251-296, are sets of paired cars also. These were manufactured by Vickers Canada under a license from Budd.[1]

[edit] Operation

Each train requires only one operator. 100-series cars have consoles at each end, since they can technically be operated alone. This permits either end to be the front. Cars in the 200- series have one console per car, since they are paired with one other. The operator's seat is surrounded by a 2-foot high plastic barrier, with a curtain pulled around during operation. The operator controls from the console at the front car of the train. This permits any car to be the front car of the train. The train operator controls the speed, makes the station announcements, and opens/closes doors. When not in use, a lockable cover sits over the console.

[edit] Cabin

Half of the seats in each car face the direction of travel, and half face backward. There are no side facing seats. Each bench, which is made of a foam filled plastic cover, can seat two people. Passengers enter and exit through two doors on each side of the car, and there is standing room in these areas.

[edit] Upcoming Refurbishment

PATCO has announced plans for the complete refurbishment of the entire fleet, with work beginning in 2009 ^[5]. The three to four year project will cost between 100 and 200 million dollars, with some funding coming from the federal government. Cars will be stripped to their exterior metal shell, and will be outfitted with new seating and electronic systems.

[edit] Route identification

One of the six possible routes is displayed on a fluorescent lit piece of glass in the car. There are six routes, cut through a dark tinted piece of glass. The light behind the correct one identifies the train route. There are also rolling signs on the car ends and sides displaying this same route. The routes are as follows:

• Lindenwold Local
• Lindenwold Express
• Philadelphia Local
• Philadelphia Express
• Woodcrest Local
• Ferry Avenue Local

An additional sign is displayed (Special) when the train is accepting no passengers. Currently, the only three service designations used are Lindenwold Local, Philadelphia Local, and Philadelphia Express. The only currently operating express service is westbound from Lindenwold towards Philadelphia, which operates six times daily between 7:30 am – 8:45 am, skipping only Haddonfield, Westmont, and Collingswood stations. There is currently no eastbound express service, and all eastbound trains terminate at Lindenwold, as opposed to terminating early at Ferry Avenue or Woodcrest.

[edit] Power

All PATCO trains are electrically powered. Power comes from a top contact covered third rail at 750 volts DC. Each car has its own set of four motors. This adds extra reliability because if the motors in one car should fail, the train can continue operation.

[edit] Fare collection

[edit] Magnetic system

Since 1969, PATCO used a magnetic ticket as the sole means of collecting fares. The plastic tickets were purchased through vending machines in the stations. These machines required coins, so bill changers were placed in stations. Each vending machine was capable of selling two types of tickets, which the rider selected by pushing a button after inserting the correct fare. Several machines were needed in each station, since different types of one-way and two-way tickets needed to be sold. After the ticket was purchased, it was inserted through a turnstile gate. To exit the station, it was inserted again, and if it had rides remaining, returned to the rider. A ticket with no rides was re encoded by the system and returned to use in the vending machine. Tickets could also be purchased in ten-trip passes, but these were obtained through mail or in office.

At its inception, this system was state-of-the-art, but it quickly became obsolete. Often, tickets were damaged by magnetic sources such as cell phones and PDAs that did not exist at the creation of the system. If something went wrong with a ticket, the best help that could be provided was through a call for help phone because most stations had no attendants.

[edit] Freedom system

In July 2006, PATCO announced that it would start the transition from a magnetic ticket fare system to an electronic smart card system. Magnetic tickets are still sold, for the occasional riders, however they are now in a paper form and can only be purchased with cash. The new computer vending machines allow more advanced purchasing options for Freedom Cards (the term used for the smart cards). Payment can now be in the form of coins, bills, credit cards, or debit cards. PATCO also says that balances can be reloaded on the Internet.

Each fare machine in the unpaid areas (i.e. outside the gates) performs all transactions. Also, to augment the call-for-aid phones, there are now exit fare machines located inside of the fare gates, so that if a rider has purchased the wrong fare, they may pay the remaining fare to exit.

The system is now being used by the general public at all PATCO stations, following a testing period by PATCO employees and some frequent commuters. For a time, some stations did not have the new equipment functioning. This had created confusion for riders who had purchased one of the new tickets for entry at an upgraded station, only to find out that the new ticket could not be used to exit at a station that had not yet been upgraded.

The system is being put into effect in an attempt to gain ridership, which has fallen sharply since its peak in 1990^{[citation needed]}. The system was built in Tullahoma, Tennessee by Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.^[1]

Because of the system's flexibility, it could one day operate seamlessly with SEPTA and RiverLine rail networks, allowing an integration of the systems. ^[6]

[edit] Connections to other transit systems

[edit] New Jersey Transit connections

New Jersey Transit buses connect to most PATCO stations in New Jersey. The New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line also stops at Lindenwold Station, and the River Line connects at Broadway Station (Walter Rand Transportation Center).

[edit] SEPTA connections

The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Market-Frankford Line connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station, which is five blocks away from SEPTA Market East Station, where all of SEPTA's regional trains stop.

SEPTA's Broad Street Line connects to PATCO at the Walnut-Locust station via a short underground walkway to PATCO's 12th-13th & Locust, and 15-16th & Locust stations. The Broad-Ridge Spur connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station via a pedestrian walkway.

[edit] Amtrak connections

The stations of the PATCO Speedline are a few miles from making connections with inter-city Amtrak trains at 30th Street Station. To make the connection to 30th Street Station, one must either transfer at the 8th Street and Market Station to the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, and then travel four stations west to 30th Street Station or walk through the Gallery Mall to the Market East Regional Rail station and then catch any Regional Rail train to 30th St Station. While the MFL option involves less walking, the Regional Rail option is free for anyone holding Amtrak tickets (even though tickets are not normally lifted between the 3 Center City Regional Rail stations anyway). Alternatively, one can ride to 30th Street via the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line from the Lindenwold Station.

[edit] Union representation

PATCO train operators are represented by Teamsters Local 676.

[edit] Station list

State	Municipality	Station	Notes	Service
PA	Philadelphia	15-16th & Locust	End of the line and short walk to SEPTA Broad Street Line	All trains
		12-13th & Locust	short walk to SEPTA Broad Street Line	All trains
		9-10th & Locust		All trains, except when closed between 12:30 am - 5:00 am
		8th & Market	transfer to SEPTA Market-Frankford Line and Broad-Ridge Spur	All trains
		Franklin Square	closed since 1979	N / A
NJ	Camden	City Hall		All trains
		Broadway (Walter Rand Transportation Center)	transfer to New Jersey Transit River Line	All trains
		Ferry Avenue		All trains
	Collingswood	Collingswood		Local trains only
	Haddon Township	Westmont		Local trains only
	Haddonfield	Haddonfield	The only station east of Camden to be located below street level (in an open cut).	Local trains only
	Cherry Hill Township	Woodcrest	parking lot very close to interchange (Exit 31) with I-295	All trains
	Voorhees Township	Ashland	Original terminal	All trains
	Lindenwold	Lindenwold	transfer to New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line	All trains

[edit] See also

• List of rapid transit systems

[edit] References

• U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 (PDF)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• PATCO official website
• NYCsubway.org - PATCO
• Philadelphia Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society - PATCO
• PATCO Ride Video on YouTube

v • d • e Mass transit in the Delaware Valley Bus lines SEPTA: Philadelphia • Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties Reading: Berks Area Reading Transit Authority New Jersey Transit: Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County suburban service • Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County local service • Long-distance local routes from Philadelphia DART First State: New Castle County Commuter/heavy rail lines SEPTA: Regional Rail • Market–Frankford Line Broad Street Line New Jersey Transit: Atlantic City Line • Atlantic City-NYC express (future) Camden County-Philadelphia: PATCO Speedline Light rail lines SEPTA: Subway–Surface trolleys • Route 15 • Route 100 • Routes 101 and 102 New Jersey Transit: River Line

v • d • e Currently operating heavy rail rapid transit systems in the United States MBTA (Blue, Orange, and Red Lines) · MTA (New York City Subway and Staten Island Railway) · PATH · SEPTA (Market–Frankford and Broad Street Lines) · PATCO Speedline · MTA Maryland (Metro Subway) · WMATA (Metrorail) · MARTA · Miami-Dade Transit (Miami Metrorail) · Tren Urbano · RTA Rapid Transit (Red Line) · CTA (Chicago 'L') · BART · LACMTA (Metro Purple and Metro Red Lines)