Jump to content

Wilmington/Newark Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
Wilmington/Newark Line
A 2-car Silverliner IV train seen at Prospect Park station
Overview
Termini
Stations22
Websitesepta.org
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemSEPTA Regional Rail
Operator(s)SEPTA Regional Rail
Rolling stockElectric Multiple Units, push-pull trains
Daily ridership3,420 (FY 2022)[1]
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 12 kV 25 Hz AC
Route map
Map
Legend
2.1 mi
3.4 km
 Temple University
0.5 mi
0.8 km
 Jefferson
0 mi
0 km
 Suburban
0.9 mi
1.4 km
 30th Street
Atlantic City LineAmtrak
South Street
1.8 mi
2.9 km
 Penn Medicine
WAW
to Wawa
 AIR
to Airport Philadelphia International Airpot
42nd Street
Grays Ferry
58th Street
Mount Moriah
Bonaffon
Paschall
Zone
 CC 
2
6.1 mi
9.8 km
 Darby
6.8 mi
10.9 km
 Curtis Park
Academy
7.2 mi
11.6 km
 Sharon Hill
7.7 mi
12.4 km
 Folcroft
8.3 mi
13.4 km
 Glenolden
9.0 mi
14.5 km
 Norwood
9.5 mi
15.3 km
 Prospect Park
Zone
 2 
3
10.4 mi
16.7 km
 Ridley Park
11.2 mi
18 km
 Crum Lynne
Baldwin
12.3 mi
19.8 km
 Eddystone
13.4 mi
21.6 km
 Chester T.C.
Lamokin Street
15.5 mi
24.9 km
 Highland Avenue
Thurlow
Trainer
17.1 mi
27.5 km
 Marcus Hook
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Zone
 3 
4
19.6 mi
31.5 km
 Claymont
26.8 mi
43.1 km
 Wilmington Amtrak
32.5 mi
52.3 km
 Churchmans Crossing
38.7 mi
62.3 km
 Newark Amtrak
Northeast Corridor
to Washington
This diagram:

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 Newark, Delaware. It is the longest of the 13 SEPTA Regional Rail lines.

Route

The Wilmington/Newark Line runs on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, making local stops along the way.

Only weekday peak trains run to Newark. All trains on weekends terminate at Wilmington. Service in Delaware is funded in part by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

As of 2024, most weekday Wilmington/Newark trains operate through the Center City tunnel to and from Lansdale/Doylestown Line points. All weekend Wilmington trains run through to and from Elm Street in Norristown on the Manayunk/Norristown Line.[2]

History

Silverliner V SEPTA Regional Rail train at Wilmington station

The line north of Wilmington was originally built by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. The original alignment was opened January 17, 1838, and on November 18, 1872, a realignment opened north of Chester (part of the old route is now used for the Airport Line). South of Wilmington the line was built by the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad and opened July 31, 1837. The Pennsylvania Railroad obtained control in the early 1880s. Electrified service was opened between Philadelphia and Wilmington on September 30, 1928. Electrified operation was extended to Newark and beyond to Washington, D.C., on February 10, 1935. In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged into Penn Central. In 1976 Conrail took over, and SEPTA took over on January 1, 1983. When SEPTA took over service, commuter rail service in Delaware was eliminated, with the Claymont and Edgemoor stations closed.[3]

Under SEPTA, commuter service from Philadelphia originally terminated in Marcus Hook. On January 16, 1989, service was extended south into Delaware to end at Wilmington. A stop was added in Claymont in 1991.[4] In the mid-1990s, a transportation study took place for extending SEPTA service from Wilmington to Newark. The proposal called for stations at Newport (near the former Newport Railroad Station), Metroform (now Churchmans Crossing), Newark, and West Newark (at Otts Chapel Road). A review by DelDOT challenged the locations of the stations in Newport, Newark, and West Newark.[5] SEPTA service was extended south from Wilmington to Newark September 2, 1997. The Churchmans Crossing station between Wilmington and Newark opened in 2000.[4]

On July 25, 2010, SEPTA renamed the service from the R2 Newark to the Wilmington/Newark Line as part of system-wide service change that drops the R-number naming and makes the Center City stations the terminus for all lines. This also ended the combined R2 Newark/R2 Warminster service.

SEPTA activated positive train control on the Wilmington/Newark Line on May 1, 2017.[6]

On April 9, 2020, service on the line was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[7] though Penn Medicine station was still being served by other rail services.[8] Service between 30th Street Station and Wilmington resumed May 10, 2020 on a modified schedule as part of the Southwest Connection Improvement Program.[9] Service to Newark resumed on January 25, 2021, in order to offer public transit options during a construction project along Interstate 95 in Wilmington.[10] Previously, Amtrak announced the completion of the Delaware Third Rail Project in December 2020. The project installed the third track between Wilmington and Newark that would increase the capacity.[11]

Station list

The Wilmington/Newark Line trains make the following station stops, after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection:

State Zone[2] Location Station Miles (km)
from
Center City 		Date opened Connections / notes
PA CC University City, Philadelphia Penn Medicine Disabled access 1.8 (2.9) Mainline rail interchange SEPTA Regional Rail:  Airport   Manayunk/Norristown   Media/Wawa   Warminster   West Trenton 
Bus transport SEPTA City Bus: 40, LUCY
2 Darby Darby 6.1 (9.8)
Sharon Hill Curtis Park 6.8 (10.9) March 7, 1949[12] Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 115
Academy Closed March 7, 1949[12]
Sharon Hill 7.2 (11.6) Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 115
Folcroft Folcroft 7.7 (12.4) Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 115
Glenolden Glenolden 8.3 (13.4)
Norwood Norwood 9.0 (14.5)
Prospect Park Prospect Park 9.5 (15.3) The station was named Moore until April 1, 1932[13]
3 Ridley Park Ridley Park 10.4 (16.7) 1871[14]
Crum Lynne 11.2 (18.0) Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 114
Eddystone
Baldwin Closed October 4, 1981[15]
Eddystone 12.3 (19.8) Bus transport SEPTA City Bus: 37
Chester Chester Transportation Center Disabled access 13.4 (21.6) Bus transport SEPTA City Bus: 37
Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 109, 113, 114, 117, 118, 119
Lamokin Street Closed July 1, 2003[16]
Highland Avenue 15.5 (24.9) Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 113
Trainer Trainer Closed 1979
Marcus Hook Marcus Hook 17.1 (27.5) Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 119
DE 4 Claymont Naaman Closed March 26, 1978[17]
Claymont Disabled access 19.6 (31.5) 1991[3][18] Bus transport DART First State: 13, 61
Bus transport SEPTA Suburban Bus: 113
Edgemoor Edge Moor Closed January 1, 1983[3]
Wilmington Wilmington Disabled access 26.8 (43.1) 1989 Amtrak Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Vermonter
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines
Bus transport DART First State: 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 28, 33, 35, 37, 40, 52, 301, 305 (seasonal)
Newark Churchmans Crossing Disabled access 32.5 (52.3) 2000 Bus transport DART First State: 54, 62
Newark Disabled access 38.7 (62.3) 1997 Amtrak Amtrak: Northeast Regional
Bus transport DART First State: 10, 33, 46, DART Connect
Bus transport Cecil Transit: 4

Ridership

Between FY 2013-FY 2019 annual ridership on the Wilmington/Newark Line ranged between 2.5 and 2.8 million before collapsing during the COVID-19 pandemic.[note 1]

500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
FY 2019
FY 2020
FY 2021
FY 2022
FY 2023

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Data for individual lines is not available for FY 2020.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b SEPTA Data Group. "Route Operating Statistics". Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Wilmington/Newark Line Timetable" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. May 19, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Rail Unions Set Strike Deadline". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. February 10, 1983. p. 23. Retrieved October 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b "Delaware State Rail Plan" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "DelDOT Questions Planned Rail Stops". The News Journal. Wilimington, Delaware. November 26, 1994. p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Positive Train Control Update". SEPTA. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  7. ^ "Service Information". SEPTA. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "SEPTA Regional Rail & Rail Transit Lifeline Service" (PDF). SEPTA. 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Southwest Connection Improvement Program". SEPTA. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "Regional Rail Select Schedule Changes – Select Lines Sunday, January 24, 2021". SEPTA. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  11. ^ "Amtrak Completes Delaware Third Track Project". Amtrak Media. 2020-12-07.
  12. ^ a b "New Curtis Park Station". Delaware County Daily Times. March 5, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved April 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ Baer, Christopher T. "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1932" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical Historical Society. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  14. ^ "Latest News By Mail". Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. November 23, 1880. p. 2. Retrieved April 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ Tulsky, Fredric N. (September 24, 1981). "Rail Cuts Approved by SEPTA". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 23. Retrieved October 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ^ "On the Railroad Lines" (PDF). The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger. Vol. 21, no. 6–7. Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers. July 2003. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "Public Notice: Station Abandonment". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 6, 1978. p. 17. Retrieved October 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  18. ^ "Delaware State Rail Plan" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. 2011. p. 4-6, 4-8. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Wilmington/Newark_Line&oldid=1256806221"