New schedules for most SEPTA Regional Rail lines to take effect Sunday
The most significant adjustments will be to the Wilmington/Newark line.
SEPTA Regional Rail commuters are in for some changes starting Sunday, when the transit authority plans to implement new schedules for most lines.
The changes will allow Regional Rail trains to operate service at 75% of pre-COVID levels as ridership returns gradually, SEPTA said.
The most significant adjustments will be to the Wilmington/Newark line in order to accommodate Amtrak bridge repairs in the Chester area, which are scheduled to begin in mid-September. Additionally, midday service reductions will hit the Chestnut Hill East line, and the Chestnut Hill West line will see weekday inbound and outbound schedule changes to accommodate school travel.
Other schedules set to see changes starting Sunday include those for the Airport, Glenside, Lansdale/Doylestown, Manayunk/Norristown, Media/Wawa, Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton, Warminster, West Trenton, and Wilmington/Newark lines. For the most part, the changes involve trains moving from their current departure or arrival times by several minutes.
A full list of planned schedule adjustments is available on SEPTA’s website.
On SEPTA’s bus and trolley lines, riders have been warned to about possible delays over the next two weeks as all employees attend safety trainings. The trainings come after eight SEPTA vehicles crashed in the span of 20 days earlier this summer. The Federal Transportation Administration has also launched an investigation.
The Regional Rail changes arrive as SEPTA officials lobby in Harrisburg for a proposal that would increase the authority’s annual share of sales-tax revenue devoted to public transportation by about 45%. SEPTA estimates that if their efforts are successful, it would get an additional $190 million in funding each year. The company’s estimated operations budget gap is $240 million a year, The Inquirer previously reported.
“We’ll really be able to prevent a draconian service reduction and extraordinary fare increases,” SEPTA CEO Leslie S. Richards said Wednesday.