Suburban Station is an
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
office building and underground
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
station in
Penn Center, Philadelphia
Penn Center is the heart of Philadelphia's central business district. It takes its name from the nearly five million square foot office and retail complex it contains. It lies between 15th and 19th Streets, and between John F. Kennedy Boulevard ...
. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and
JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by
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 ...
and is one of the three core
Center City stations on
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 ...
, and is also the busiest station in the Regional Rail network. The station was built by the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
to replace the original
Broad Street Station and opened on September 28, 1930.
History
The station opened as a stub-end terminal for
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
suburban commuter trains serving Center City Philadelphia, intended to replace the above-ground
Broad Street Station in this function. PRR inter-city trains, on the other hand, would use Thirtieth Street Station. The station's full name was originally Broad Street Suburban Station. It also includes a 21-story office tower, One Penn Center, which served as the headquarters of the PRR from 1930 to 1957.
When
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
took over the ''
Silverliner Service
Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Ma ...
'' from
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
in 1972, it was operated as a quasi-commuter service (
Clockers and express trains
to New York) that terminated at Suburban Station.
The trains through Harrisburg were named ''
Keystone Service
Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional rail, regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to ...
'' in 1981.
By the late 1980s, the
Metroliners used for the service were in poor shape, but Amtrak had a shortage of
AEM-7 locomotives due to wrecks. On February 1, 1988, Amtrak converted all ''Keystone Service'' trains to diesel power and terminated them on the lower level of 30th Street Station, as diesel-powered trains were not allowed in the tunnels to Suburban Station.
The change was listed as "temporary" on timetables starting on May 15, 1988, and lasting into 1990.
Suburban Station was originally a stub-end terminal station with eight tracks and four platforms. Plans for a tunnel to link the Pennsylvania and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
commuter lines were floated as early as the 1950s, but funding to seriously study the project did not start until SEPTA's formation in the late 1960s. The project languished in the 1970s for want of funding until federal money was appropriated during Philadelphia mayor
Frank Rizzo
Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democr ...
's time in office. SEPTA took over operation of all commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area in 1983; it had previously contracted their operations to
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
from 1976 to 1983 and to PRR and Reading from 1966 to 1976. A train crash occurred here on December 10, 1986, when an Airport Line train rammed a stopped Chestnut Hill West train injuring 42 people. The operator tested positive for drugs.
The long-awaited link between the old PRR and Reading lines, the
Center City Commuter Connection
250px, The ASCE plaque in Jefferson Station
250px, City plaque in Jefferson Station
The Center City Commuter Connection, (CCCC) commonly referred to as "the commuter tunnel", is a passenger railroad tunnel in Center City, Philadelphia, Penns ...
, opened in 1984. It extended four tracks eastward to the new Market East Station (now
Jefferson Station), widened two of the existing platforms, added a fifth platform and realigned the tracks. The recently renovated building above is also the core of the Penn Center office complex, and is known as One Penn Center at Suburban Station. The office building attained an
Energy Star
Energy Star (trademarked ''ENERGY STAR'') is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of pro ...
Rating in 2009.
BLT Architects transformed Suburban Station in 2006. The station was redesigned to make navigation easier and adapt to current pedestrian traffic.
BLTa Architects: Suburban Station
/ref> Upgrades included increased retail space, a reactivated and improved HVAC
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
system, and a restored/refurbished waiting area. The station is now in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...
. The Comcast Center
Comcast Center, also known as the Comcast Tower, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia. The 58-story, tower is the second-tallest building in Philadelphia and in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania (after the Comcast Technology Center), ...
, situated on the north half of its block near Arch Street, adds a "winter garden" on the south side, which serves as a new back entrance to the station, with the commuter rail tracks about 50 feet below street level.
Services
All 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 ...
trains stop at this station. All run through except those on the Cynwyd Line
The Cynwyd Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line from Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia to Cynwyd (SEPTA station), Cynwyd in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Ivy Ridge Line, ...
as well as some limited/express trains which terminate on one of the stub-end tracks at this station. Through trains usually change crews at this station.
The station has an extensive concourse level above track level. This concourse has SEPTA ticket offices, retail shops and restaurants, and access to other SEPTA stations and to several Center City buildings. The connections, via the large Center City Concourse, include the 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 ...
at City Hall station, the Market-Frankford Line and Subway-Surface Lines at the 15th Street station, and the PATCO Speedline
The PATCO Speedline (signed in Philadelphia as the Lindenwold Line and also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line) is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), which runs between Philadelphia, Pe ...
at 15–16th & Locust station
15–16th & Locust station is the western terminus of the PATCO Speedline in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Center City Philadelphia. The station has a single island platform with a fare mezzanine above. The mezzanine level connects to t ...
.
Station layout
The station has a total of 8 tracks and 5 island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
s.
Gallery
Suburban station.JPG, Aerial view of Suburban Station
Suburban Station Platforms.jpg, Suburban Station Regional Rail platforms
Suburban_Station_1.jpg, Underground entrance
Suburban_Station_2.jpg, Waiting area
Suburban_Station_3.jpg, Concourse shops
Suburban_Station_4.jpg, Concourse shops
Suburban_Station_5.jpg, Entrance to the concourse
References
External links
SEPTA - Suburban Station
Pennsylvania Railroad - Suburban Station (Pennsylvania Railroad Stations; Past & Present)
JFK Boulevard and 17th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
JFK Boulevard and 18th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
JFK Boulevard and 16th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
16th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
Main entrance from Google Maps Street View
JFK Boulevard and 15th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{Amtrak Pennsylvania stations
SEPTA Regional Rail stations
Philadelphia Suburban
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1930
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Former Amtrak stations in Pennsylvania
Penn Center, Philadelphia
Railway stations located underground in Pennsylvania
Stations on the SEPTA Main Line
Wilmington/Newark Line