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 Philadelp ...

is the

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

system serving

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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, ...

and its metropolitan region, also known as the Delaware Valley. The system is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and serves five counties in Pennsylvania— Bucks,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, Montgomery, Chester, and

—as well as Mercer County in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

. The system covers a total route length of , of which are owned by SEPTA, with the remainder owned by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

, CSX Transportation, and the City of Philadelphia. In the 2019 fiscal year, SEPTA Regional Rail had an annual ridership of 34.2 million, with an average weekday ridership of 118,800. There are 13 lines within the Regional Rail system, with 155 active stations. Six fare zones in the system determine the ticket price, based on the distance traveled. Fare zones are designated as Zones 1 through 4 based on the station's distance from

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

with additional zones for stations in the Center City area (CCP zone) and stations in New Jersey (NJ zone). Despite its close proximity to Center City, the four Airport Terminal stations are located within Zone 4. The Regional Rail system was built in the early 20th century and originally consisted of two separate systems, operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company, respectively. SEPTA was formed in 1963, and the Pennsylvania Railroad merged into the

Penn Central Transportation Company The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

in 1968. Penn Central and the Reading Company operated the railroads until they were taken over by Conrail in 1976, which operated the system through 1982. SEPTA commenced operation of the Regional Rail Division on January 1, 1983, which gave SEPTA complete operational control of its railroads. In November 1984, 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, a tunnel linking the former Pennsylvania and Penn Central networks, allowing for rail service to travel through the city and continue into adjacent suburbs. The tunnel also replaced the former

Reading Terminal The Reading Terminal ( ) is a complex of buildings that includes the former Reading Company main station located in the Market East section of Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the Reading Terminal Headho ...

with the new Market East Station (now Jefferson Station). The 12 Reading and Penn Central lines were combined into seven routes, designated as R1 through R8, with the R4 designation reserved for future use, although it was never used. The system's newest line, the Airport Line, opened in 1985, taking over the R1 designation from the

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 pairing West Trenton service with the R3 Media/Elwyn Line. In July 2010, the "R" designations for each line were dropped, and lines were renamed after their destinations.

Lines

Stations

All stations are located in Pennsylvania, unless otherwise noted. Stations located within the City of Philadelphia are additionally distinguished by neighborhood or area as noted on the official SEPTA map. Accessible stations are noted with the icon.

Notes

References

{{featured list