SEPTA is adapting its new regional rail schedules in anticipation of increased ridership this fall between the Philadelphia Suburbs and Center City.
The new schedule goes into effect this Sunday.
Changes impacting Bucks County riders include: Restoration of early morning Airport Line service on Saturdays and Sundays; earlier trips into Center City on the Trenton, Lansdale/Doylestown, and West Trenton Lines; and better coordination of trains in Center City to increase early-morning access to Penn Medicine Station, officials said in release earlier this week.
As an added enticement SEPTA officials said free parking at all Regional Rail lots will be extended to the end of the year. The plan originally called for parking fees to restart this month.
Still yet rail ridership is down, officials say, taking longer to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.
Regional Rail riders are encouraged to check the new schedules; all RR lines will have some changes, including earlier or later departure times and renumbered trains. Users of SEPTA’s official app will be able to download the new timetables Sunday. They will be posted on septa.org
Earlier this year plans for a complete overhaul of the Bristol station which the Trenton to Center City rail line runs through were planned for with the passing of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Minor alterations and steel beam support work has been ongoing since last summer.
With SEPTA approving its Capital Budget Plan earlier this year, the Bristol Station was among 21 projects approved, which move the project forward earlier than expected officials said at the time.
Regional Rail service is about 77 percent what it was before the pandemic before many switched SEPTA officials said.
Credit: Matthew Markey