MASS TRANSIT in Center City continued
subways
Some confusion. SEPTA's Market-Frankford (blue) line is called the El (short of elevated). It runs east-west through center city below street level. It surfaces at opposite ends, outside of Center City. SEPTA's Broad Street line (orange) remains underground and is called the subway. SEPTA's Green line is called the sub-surface or subway-surface. It is not called the subway or trolley. Although they are clearly trolleys or street cars and surface west of 30th Street Station. Trolleys refer to street cars - all CC routes defunct at the time of this writing - which share the streets with cars and trucks. The light rails (100, 101, 102) that runs through the suburbs outside Philadelphia is sometimes refereed to as the trolley. I have not heard it refereed to as the light rail. PATCO is refereed to the as the “high-speed” rail, not the subway. see: http://www.drpa.org/patco/patco_phila_area.html. SEPTA, oft’ referred to by the denizens of  Philly as Septic, as in septic tank.

SEPTA (Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority) SEPTA logo

If you are like me, I have to try the city’s subway system. Some of them are quite clean and modern. Philly’s subway is substandard. Although it reminds one of Atlanta’s mass transit system in as much that it is essentially in a cross pattern, north-south, east-west, with an extended spur. Unlike Atlanta, most stations are filthy-the passengers do not help matters by tossing their fast food trash and cigarettes on the platform, in the track area and inside the vehicles. It has inherent problems: Manned booths with useless employees in them. They have an uncanny knack of ignoring you. At first I though it was racially motivated. Then I considered the possibility of class difference. Now I suspect it is because they are Union employees, don’t give a damn, know they can’t be fired and are not held accountable.

There are two SEPTA subway lines: The Broad Street Line, the Market-Frankford Line, and a 'subsurface' trolley system called the Green Line. Broad Street is orange and Market-Frankford is blue. The subway portion is simple: X-Y coordinates with a hypotenuse thrown in a spur that runs though Chinatown. The Green cars cover two stops in Center City which the other two do not. The Greens cover West Philly (including University City), north and south of Market Street.
THE MARKET FRANKFORD LINE

Also the blue line, becomes elevated at opposite ends, and is hence referred to as the “EL” short for elevated, as though it were a separate line from the Market Street subway. On the east end, at Florist Street, just south of Arch near Front Street, down by the Delaware [See Diagram.] where the track turns north it emerges. The west-bound side emerges from the ground to become elevated in West Philly at 45th Street and Market Street.

On the M-F (Market-Frankford) Line (Blue) which runs East-West From 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby (West of West Philly) to 2nd Street in Center City (East). It then Runs South to North parallel to I-95 and Delaware River. There are A, B and All Stops trains during peak, or rush hour, service. Although this is not clear on the SEPTA system maps bolted to the walls of the stations and inside cars. It is shown on the line map, and in the schedule. If you board an A train, it stops at all stations with neither A nor B as well as all A. It just wont stop at B stops. It is an express, but they don’t call it that. Likewise for the B train.

Note: The Broad Street line does not have “A” and “B” but does have a local and an express. According to the schedule, express stops display green marker lights and the Ridge Avenue spur displays yellow lights.

There are no local stops for streets west of City Hall (the abscissa) to west of the Schuylkill – Univ.City/West Philly. You must transfer at 13th, 15th or 30th Street stations to take any trolley (Green Line) to 19th & 22nd Streets. 15th is west of City Hall, but the pattern of frequent local stops ends at 15th, until you get across the Schuylkill. 30th Street Station is on the west bank of the Schuylkill, and hence in West Philadelphia, as in not Center City. Oddly, the Subway is not connected to the 30th Street (AMTRAK/SEPTA Regional Rail) Railroad terminal.

There are 3 free interchanges marked in Yellow on the route maps. One can go between Blue and Green lines at 13th Street and 30th Street and between any at 15th Street. Or, if you find yourself heading in the incorrect direction, you can get on the opposite side without having to pay.

Previous To page 10

Return to blab logo Home Page

To page 12 Next