What is SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line?
Fast facts on the line, still known to some as the "trolley," that was involved in a crash in Upper Darby on Tuesday.
The Norristown High Speed Line is a 13.4-mile rapid transit line that is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA). It runs on its own right of way between the Norristown Transportation Center and the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby.
The route was making national headlines Tuesday after an occupied train on the line crashed into an unoccupied one, sending 42 people to hospitals.
Here's a primer on the line:
• It has 22 stations.
• It has a daily ridership of 11,000 passengers, according to 2017 SEPTA Route Statistics.
• It operates between 4:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. weekdays and 5 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on weekends.
• It makes 268 trips on weekdays.
• A trip from end to end takes about a half-hour on a local train and 25 minutes on an express train.
• The line has its own unique rolling stock of 26 65-foot-long ASEA N-5 motorized units that are powered by electricity from a third rail. Those cars started operating in 1993 and 1994, and remain in use today.
• The trains operate either as single or double units.
• The fare is $2.50.
• Some regular riders refer to the trains as trolleys from the days when it was known as the Route 100 trolley.
Here is a map of the route: