R1 (SEPTA)
The
SEPTA R1 is a route of the
SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system. The
Pennsylvania Railroad end of the route terminates at the
Philadelphia International Airport and the
Reading Company end officially terminates at
Glenside, Pennsylvania. In reality,
as of 2005, R1 Airport trains will usually become
R2 Warminster or
R3 West Trenton (weekends only) trains, or terminate at
Temple University. The R1 runs seven days a week from 5:00 AM to midnight with trains every 30 minutes. The trip length from
Suburban Station to the airport is 19 to 24 minutes.
The
Airport Line is the only line on the
Pennsylvania Railroad side of the Regional Rail System to be formerly owned by the
Reading Company. The Airport Line opened on
April 28,
1985, providing service from
Center City to the
Philadelphia International Airport. By its twentieth anniversary in
2005, the line had carried over 20 million passengers to and from the airport. The line splits from
Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor north of
Darby, passing over it onto a line that ends at the airport terminals. At the airport, a new bridge carries it over
I-95 and into the airport terminals between the baggage claim (arrivals) and the check-in counters (departures).
Each airport station is directly connected to each airport terminal by escalators and elevators which rise one level to the walkways between the arrival and departure areas. All airport stations feature
high-level platforms to make it easier to board and alight from the train with luggage, and some stations can be accessed directly from the baggage claim side across the road with the taxi stands.
The line south of the Northeast Corridor was originally part of the
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad main line, opened on
January 17,
1838. The connection between the NEC and the original PW&B is made however by the later
60th Street Branch. A new alignment of the PW&B (now the NEC) opened
November 18,
1872, and on
July 1,
1873 the
Philadelphia and Reading Railway, later the
Reading Company, bought the old line. Connection was made over the PRR's
Junction Railroad and later the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's
Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad. However, as a condition of the sale, no passenger service was provided. The line passed into
Conrail in
1976 and SEPTA in
1983, with passenger service to the Airport beginning in
1985.
The R1 Airport makes the following station stops, after leaving
30th Street Station:
*
University City (also
R2 Newark and
R3 Elwyn)
*
Eastwick (opened 1997)
*
Airport Terminal A East/West*
Airport Terminal B*
Airport Terminal C & D*
Airport Terminal ERidership by fiscal year:
| Fiscal year | Average weekday!Annual passengers | | FY 2005 | 4,017 | 1,270,082 |
| FY 2004 | 3,942 | 1,106,581 |
| FY 2003 | 3,531 | 1,262,600 |
| FY 2001 | n/a | 1,276,000 |
| FY 2000 | n/a | 1,258,000 |
| FY 1999 | n/a | 1,068,000 |
| FY 1997 | n/a | 1,077,737 |
| FY 1996 | n/a | 1,017,262 |
| FY 1995 | 2,617 | 831,043 |
| FY 1994 | 2,240 | 742,824 |
| FY 1993 | 1,678 | 632,471 |
| Note: n/a = not available |
|
The
SEPTA Main Line is the section of tracks from the north end of the
Center City Commuter Connection to
Lansdale on the
R5 Doylestown line. At
Glenside, the
R2 Warminster joins and the R1 Glenside officially begins. The
R3 West Trenton joins at the next stop,
Jenkintown-Wyncote, and the
R8 Fox Chase joins at
Newtown Junction. The
R7 Chestnut Hill East joins at
Wayne Junction, and the
R6 Norristown is the southernmost line to join, at
North Philadelphia.
As of 2006, the schedules for the R1 show that half the weekday trains continue to
Warminster as
R2 trains, while the other half terminate at
Temple University, and weekend trains alternate between Warminster and
West Trenton (as
R3 trains). Thus no trains actually terminate at Glenside.
The Main Line was mostly built by the
North Pennsylvania Railroad. However, the oldest section was part of the
Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N), the first railroad in Philadelphia. The first section of it opened on
June 7,
1832, from downtown to
Germantown (now on the
R7 Chestnut Hill East). Later a new alignment was built to
Norristown, leaving the old route from
North Philadelphia to Germantown as a branch; this is now the
R6 Norristown. The PG&N south of
Wayne Junction is now part of the Main Line.
The
North Pennsylvania Railroad opened south of
Gwynedd (north of Glenside) on
July 2,
1855, and the continuation to
Lansdale (including the branch to
Doylestown, now the
R5 Doylestown) opened
October 7. The short part of the Main Line from
Wayne Junction northeast to north of
Newtown Junction was built as a connection to the PG&N at Wayne Junction.
On
December 1,
1870 the
Philadelphia and Reading Railway (later the
Reading Company) leased the PG&N. The Northern Pennsylvania was leased
May 1,
1879, placing the whole future SEPTA Main Line under Reading control. Electrification was completed on
July 26,
1931. In
1976 Conrail took over the Reading, and in
1983 SEPTA gained control of the commuter operations.
*
SEPTA - R1 Airport schedule *
SEPTA - Combined Glenside Timetable *
the SEPTA Main Line Mileage table*
Railroad History Database*
PRR Chronology (Christopher T. Baer)
