SEPTA Metro

SEPTA Metro
Clockwise from top left: Trains on L, B, T, G, D, and M lines
Overview
Owner	SEPTA
Area served	Philadelphia, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania
Locale	Delaware Valley
Transit type	Rapid transit (L, B) Trolley (D, G) Subway–surface trolley (T) Light rapid transit (M)
Number of lines	6
Headquarters	1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Website	wwww.septa.org/metro/
Operation
Infrastructure manager(s)	SEPTA City of Philadelphia
Technical
System length	78 mi (126 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge

SEPTA Metro is an urban rail transit network in Philadelphia and its suburbs, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The network includes two rapid transit lines, a light rapid transit line, a surface-running trolley line, and a subway–surface trolley line, totaling 78 miles (126 km) of rail service.

Although SEPTA began operations in 1965, and its Metro lines date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, the overall network has no formal name until "SEPTA Metro" was first proposed in 2021 to make the system easier to navigate. Introduction of the new line naming conventions began in early 2024, which will ultimately rename each line to a single letter, with a number accompanied to each letter to denote its service pattern. Once the rebranding is complete, the Broad Street Line, Media–Sharon Hill Line, Route 15, Market–Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, and Subway–Surface Trolleys will be referred to as the B, D, G, L, M, and T, respectively.

History

In September 2021, SEPTA proposed rebranding their rail transit services, the Market–Frankford Line, Broad Street Line, Subway–Surface trolley lines, Norristown High-Speed Line, Route 15 trolley, and Routes 101 and 102 trolleys) as the "SEPTA Metro", in order to make the system easier to navigate.

Under this proposal, new maps, station signage, and line designations would be created. Under the proposed nomenclature, trunk lines would receive a letter and a color, with services having a numeric suffix and service name, to make wayfinding easier. Services on the current Market–Frankford Line, for instance, would be called the "L Lines" and colored blue, with local service becoming the "L1 Market–Frankford Local".

Services along the current Broad Street Line would become the "B Lines" and colored orange, with local service becoming the "B1 Broad Street Local". The express service would become the "B2 Broad Street Express", the special service would become the "B2 Express Sports Special", and spur service would become the "B3 Broad–Ridge Express".

Services along the current subway–surface, Norristown High-Speed Line, Route 15 trolley, and Routes 101 and 102 suburban trolley trunk would become the "T Lines", "M Lines", "G Lines", and "D Lines" respectively. SEPTA budgeted $40 million to June 2023 for the rebranding.

In March 2022, SEPTA revised the SEPTA Metro proposal based on feedback from a 2 month-long outreach period between September and October 2021. The amended proposal involved describing each lettered service by the word "Line" rather than "Lines". Special service along the Broad Street Line would become part of the "B2 Broad Street Express", with service being differentiated by their end terminals. As part of the proposal, the roll-out of real-time information was stated as a priority. Stations with shared names would also be renamed to avoid confusion. SEPTA upgraded its website in late 2023, in advance of the planned rollout of SEPTA Metro in 2024. The first pieces of updated signage were installed at Drexel Station at 30th Street in February 2024.

Lines

Line	Type	Service patterns	South/West terminal	North/East terminal	Average weekday ridership (FY 2023)
Broad Street Line	Rapid transit (subway)	Local	NRG	Fern Rock Transit Center	79,155
		Express	Walnut–Locust NRG (limited)
		Spur	8th–Market
Media–Sharon Hill Line	Trolley	Route 101	Orange Street / Media	69th Street Transit Center	2,023
		Route 102	Chester Pike / Sharon Hill		2,097
Route 15 Trolley	Trolley	All Stops	63rd–Girard	Richmond–Westmoreland	4,762
Market–Frankford Line	Rapid transit (subway/elevated)	All Stops	69th Street Transit Center	Frankford Transit Center	107,651
Norristown High Speed Line	Light rapid transit	Local	69th Street Transit Center	Norristown Transit Center	4,510
Subway–Surface Trolleys	Subway–surface trolley	Route 10	63rd–Malvern / Overbrook	13th Street	5,396
		Route 34	61st–Baltimore / Angora		6,225
		Route 13	Yeadon Darby Transit Center (limited)		6,503
		Route 11	Darby Transit Center		6,669
		Route 36	80th Street–Eastwick		7,101

External links

• Official website