Warminster Line
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The Warminster Line is a route of the
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 ...
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 ...
system. It serves stations between its namesake town,
Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-c ...
, and Center City,
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 ...
. Half of the route is shared by other lines, including 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, Bethle ...
,
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 ...
,
Fox Chase Line The Fox Chase Line SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia with Fox Chase. It uses the Fox Chase Branch, which branches off from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirel ...
,
Chestnut Hill East Line The Chestnut Hill East Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northwestern section of Philadelphia with service to Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. It is one of two lines that serve Ch ...
, and
Manayunk/Norristown Line The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a commuter rail service in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and one of the 13 lines in SEPTA's Regional Rail network. It has the fourth highest ridership and the highest operating ratio (58%) on the SEPTA Regional Rail ...
. The great majority of trains continue as part of the Airport Line.


Route

The Warminster Line uses the
SEPTA Main Line The SEPTA Main Line is the section of the SEPTA Regional Rail system from the Zoo Interlocking in West Philadelphia to Lansdale Station in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. The line is long, and serves all 13 SEPTA Regional Rail lines. Current servi ...
between Center City and Glenside, where it branches off onto the
Warminster Branch The Warminster Branch is a railway line in the state of Pennsylvania. It runs from a junction with the SEPTA Main Line just north of to , where it meets the New Hope Railroad. It was originally built by the North East Pennsylvania Railroad, a ...
to Hatboro and
Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-c ...
. The tracks continue past Warminster to
Ivyland Ivyland is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It is known for one of the finest collections of Victorian architecture, Victorian buildings in the state, most of which is registered with the ...
and eventually to New Hope, where the
New Hope Railroad The New Hope Railroad , formerly and colloquially known as the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad, is a shortline and heritage railroad located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Today, the railroad operates both steam and diesel powered locomotives and is ...
runs heritage excursion trains. The Warminster Line becomes a single-track line just north of Ardsley, but was once double-tracked as far north as Roslyn, the original northbound track being removed in 2010. A passing siding exists north of Willow Grove. There is also a second storage track at the Hatboro station and the line becomes double-tracked again as it approaches the terminus at Warminster station.


History

The Warminster Line is a continuation of the Reading Company's suburban services over the
Warminster Branch The Warminster Branch is a railway line in the state of Pennsylvania. It runs from a junction with the SEPTA Main Line just north of to , where it meets the New Hope Railroad. It was originally built by the North East Pennsylvania Railroad, a ...
. The line was built between 1872–1874 and electrified as far as Hatboro in 1931. Passenger service beyond Hatboro ended in 1952. The Reading extended electrification and suburban service to Warminster in 1974. With the Reading's final bankruptcy in 1976
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 ...
took over the operation of the trains and ownership of the branch. The Warminster Branch was conveyed to SEPTA in 1979; SEPTA took over operation of the trains in 1983. A train crash occurred on July 1, 2006 in Abington Township injuring 38 and 6 crew members. Beginning in 1984 the route was designated R2 Warminster as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Warminster Line trains operated through the city center to the
Wilmington/Newark Line The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and ...
(then Marcus Hook) on the ex-Pennsylvania side of the system. The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010. the majority of Warminster trains continue on to the Airport Line, though some peak hour weekday trains terminate at
30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
. On April 18, 2016, SEPTA launched
positive train control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
on the Warminster Line, the first Regional Rail line to use the signal system which will enhance safety.


Potential for expansion beyond Warminster

In a 1991 report, the
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the metropolitan planning organization for the Delaware Valley. Created in 1965 by an interstate compact, DVRPC is responsible for transportation and regional planning in the greater Phil ...
ranked the line between Warminster and New Hope as having "medium potential" for reuse based on projected growth in population and employment in the region. It noted that SEPTA considered the line a "long range transit opportunity corridor."


Stations

The Warminster Line includes the following stations north of 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 ...
; stations indicated with gray background area closed.


Ridership

Between FY 2008–FY 2018 yearly ridership on the Warminster Line has ranged between 2.3–2.7 million.


Notes


Footnotes


References

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External links

*
The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society
{{Cheltenham SEPTA Regional Rail