The Fern Rock Transportation Center is a
SEPTA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
rail and bus station located at 10th Street and Nedro Avenue in the
Fern Rock neighborhood of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
[SEPTA. Fern Rock Transportation Center.](_blank)
/ref> Fern Rock serves as the northern terminus and yard for SEPTA's Broad Street Line
The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line r ...
, as well as a stop for SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...
's Lansdale/Doylestown Line
The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bet ...
, Warminster Line
The Warminster Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system. It serves stations between its namesake town, Warminster (SEPTA station), Warminster, and Center City, Philadelphia. Half of the route is shared by other lines, incl ...
, and West Trenton Line
The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. With around 12,000 riders every weekday, it is the third busiest line in the SEPTA Regional R ...
.
Four bus routes
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
also serve the station. Fern Rock Transportation Center serves as the western terminus for the 28 and 70 bus routes. Fern Rock is also the northernmost terminus for the 4 and 57 bus routes.
Regional Rail platforms
Fern Rock Transportation Center serves the Warminster Line
The Warminster Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system. It serves stations between its namesake town, Warminster (SEPTA station), Warminster, and Center City, Philadelphia. Half of the route is shared by other lines, incl ...
, West Trenton Line
The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. With around 12,000 riders every weekday, it is the third busiest line in the SEPTA Regional R ...
, and the Lansdale/Doylestown Line
The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bet ...
. In FY 2015, there was a weekday average of 825 boardings and 792 alightings.
The current SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...
station at Fern Rock Transportation Center, located along the SEPTA Main Line, was built in March 1992 to accommodate Regional Rail commuters displaced during SEPTA's 1992/1993 Railworks reconstruction project. The new station replaced former Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly call ...
stations Fern Rock and Tabor, respectively located north and south of the new station. It has high-level platforms and is handicap-accessible, being directly connected to the subway station by a ramp from the subway platform. While passengers can readily transfer between the Broad Street Line and the Regional Rail Lines at Fern Rock, such a transfer requires payment of a separate fare of the subway and regional rail, unless the rider possesses a SEPTA Trailpass, which can be used for travel on both subway and regional rail. A non-revenue track connection exists here between the SEPTA Regional Rail Lines and SEPTA's Broad Street Line. A train crash occurred here on January 27, 2009, injuring nine.
Broad Street platform
The Broad Street platforms at Fern Rock Transportation Center opened in 1956, when the line was extended north from the original northern terminus at Olney Terminal
The Olney Transportation Center, also called Olney Terminal, is a SEPTA bus and subway station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at the intersection of Broad Street and Olney Avenue in the Logan neighborhood of North Philadelphia
N ...
by the Philadelphia Transportation Company
The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since 19 ...
(PTC) and the City of Philadelphia. Fern Rock Transportation Center also hosts the yard and maintenance facilities for the Broad Street Line, and is the line's only above ground station.
Fern Rock is the northern terminal for local and express trains on the line, as well as the special event service that extends express service to the South Philadelphia Sports Complex
The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the home of most major Philadelphia professional sports teams. The complex is located in South Philadelphia and is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, home arena for the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphi ...
. Broad–Ridge Spur trains generally only serve the station on Saturdays and during non-peak weekday hours.
Station layout
All tracks are located at ground level, with Regional Rail platforms oriented north-south and the Broad Street platform oriented east-west, part of a larger balloon loop
A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains.
Bal ...
around the storage yard.
Image gallery
Fern Rock Rail Station.JPG, Regional Rail station
Image:28Bus.JPG, SEPTA Route 28 Bus at Fern Rock
Fern Rock BSL Station 2018.JPG, Station with BSL in front, Regional Rail in the back
File:Fernrockrail.jpg, BSL Subway Cars at Fern Rock
File:3D Anaglyph of Fern Rock Station.JPG, Stereo (3D) picture of outbound train platform at Fern Rock Station (red/blue glasses needed).
File:Fern Rock Rail Station 2018a.JPG, Broad Street Line station
File:Northbound Silverliner V at Fern Rock TC.jpg, Outbound Silverliner V at Fern Rock Transportation Center.
References
External links
SEPTA – Fern Rock Transportation Center (Regional Rail)
* [https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.042047,-75.137086&spn=0.003885,0.013679&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.042032,-75.136968&panoid=1eFNZuHbSkNumue1CmRrww&cbp=12,184.31,,0,4.2 Nedro Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View]
{{SEPTA Regional Rail stations
SEPTA Regional Rail stations
SEPTA Broad Street Line stations
Stations on the SEPTA Main Line
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1956
SEPTA stations and terminals
Railway stations in Philadelphia
Olney-Oak Lane, Philadelphia
Railways with Zig Zags
SEPTA Rapid Transit stations located above ground