The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite towns and cities. It is the sixth-busiest commuter railroad in the United States. In 2016, the Regional Rail system had an average of 132,000 daily riders and 118,800 daily riders as of 2019.
The core of the Regional Rail system is the Center City Commuter Connection, a tunnel linking three Center City stations: the above-ground upper level of 30th Street Station, the underground Suburban Station, and Jefferson Station. All trains stop at these Center City stations (with the exception of the Cynwyd Line); most also stop at Temple University station on the campus of Temple University in North Philadelphia. Operations are handled by the SEPTA Railroad Division.2008 SEPTA Railroad Division employee timetable accessed August 16, 2011
Of the 13 branches, six were originally owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) (later Penn Central), six by the Reading Company, while one was constructed under SEPTA in 1985. The PRR lines terminated at Suburban Station; the Reading lines at Reading Terminal. The Center City Commuter Connection opened in November 1984 to unite the two systems, turning the two terminal stations into through-stations. Reading Terminal was replaced by the newly built underground Market East Station (now Jefferson Station). Most inbound trains from one line continue on as outbound trains on another line. Some trains, including all trains on the Cynwyd Line, terminate on one of the stub-end tracks at Suburban Station. Service on most lines operates from 5:30 a.m. to midnight.
Lines Each former PRR line, as well as the Airport Line, was once paired with a former Reading line and numbered from R1 to R8 (except for R4), so that one route number described two lines, one on the PRR side and one on the Reading side. This was ultimately deemed more confusing than helpful, so on July 25, 2010, SEPTA dropped the R-number and color-coded route designators and changed dispatching patterns so fewer trains follow both sides of the same route.
Former Pennsylvania Railroad lines Airport Line: terminates at the Philadelphia International Airport. This line is geographically on the PRR side of the system, however service did not begin on the line until 1985. Chestnut Hill West Line: terminates in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. Cynwyd Line: terminates in Cynwyd and operates weekdays only. Until 1986, trains continued on to Ivy Ridge station in northwestern Philadelphia. Media/Wawa Line: terminates at Wawa. Until 1986, trains continued on to West Chester. On August 21, 2022, SEPTA restored service to Wawa, approximately three miles (5 km) west of the previous terminus at Elwyn. Paoli/Thorndale Line: trains terminate at Malvern or Thorndale; additional rush hour trains terminate at Bryn Mawr or Paoli. From April 2, 1990 to November 11, 1996, trains continued on to Parkesburg. Service was extended to Thorndale on November 22, 1999. In March 2019, SEPTA announced a plan to extend service to Coatesville, approximately three miles west of Thorndale, once a new train station is constructed. Trenton Line: terminates in Trenton, New Jersey. This line uses Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, and offers a connection at Trenton to New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line for continued service to New York City. Wilmington/Newark Line: terminates in Wilmington, Delaware, with some weekday trains continuing to Newark, Delaware. The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) subsidizes Delaware service. This line runs entirely on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Former Reading Company lines
Chestnut Hill East Line: terminates in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. Fox Chase Line: terminates in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia. Lansdale/Doylestown Line: terminates at Doylestown. On weekdays, approximately half of the local trains terminate at Lansdale while the remainder of the local trains, and some expresses, continue on to Doylestown. Manayunk/Norristown Line: terminates at Elm Street in Norristown. Warminster Line: terminates in Warminster. West Trenton Line: terminates at the West Trenton station in Ewing, New Jersey.
LineInbound terminal(s)Outbound terminal(s)StationsLengthDaily weekdayboardings (FY 2024)Annual passengers(FY 2024)Counties servedGlensidePhiladelphia Airport165,7221,668,039Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware30th Street Station, Penn Medicine StationChestnut Hill East153,095903,755PhiladelphiaTemple UniversityChestnut Hill West143,142916,302PhiladelphiaSuburban StationCynwyd516042,128Philadelphia, MontgomeryPenn Medicine Station, 30th Street StationFox Chase113,4501,007,613PhiladelphiaPenn Medicine StationDoylestown279,2572,698,687Philadelphia, Montgomery, BucksPenn Medicine StationMiquon, Norristown, Elm Street178,1912,387,874Philadelphia, MontgomeryTemple UniversityMedia, Elwyn, Wawa204,4701,303,117Philadelphia, DelawareTemple UniversityBryn Mawr, Malvern, Thorndale269,8172,861,041Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, ChesterTemple UniversityTrenton157,9372,315,458Philadelphia, Bucks, Mercer (NJ)Penn Medicine StationGlenside, Warminster175,0341,467,444Philadelphia, Montgomery, BucksPenn Medicine StationWest Trenton227,2532,114,374Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Mercer (NJ) Temple UniversityMarcus Hook, Wilmington, Newark224,3011,253,750Philadelphia, Delaware, New Castle (DE)
Stations
There are 154 active stations on the Regional Rail system (as of 2016), including 51 in the city of Philadelphia, 42 in Montgomery County, 29 in Delaware County, 16 in Bucks County, 10 in Chester County, and six outside the state of Pennsylvania (two in Mercer County, New Jersey and four in New Castle County, Delaware). In 2003, passengers boarding in Philadelphia accounted for 61% of trips on a typical weekday, with 45% from the three Center City stations and Temple University station.
County Stations Boardings in 2003 Boardings in 2001 Philadelphia 51 60 967 61 970 Montgomery County 42 17 228 18 334 Delaware County 29 8 310 8 745 Bucks County 16 5 332 5 845 Chester County 10 5 154 5 079 Outside Pennsylvania 6 2 860 3 423 total 154 99 851 103 396
Rolling stock
SEPTA uses a mixed fleet of General Electric and Hyundai Rotem "Silverliner" electric multiple unit (EMU) cars, used on all Regional Rail lines. SEPTA also uses push-pull equipment: coaches built by Bombardier, hauled by Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives similar to those used by Amtrak. The push-pull equipment is used primarily for peak express service because it accelerates slower than EMU equipment, making it less suitable for local service with close station spacing and frequent stops and starts.
As of 2012, all cars have a blended red-and-blue SEPTA window logo and "ditch lights" that flash at grade crossings and when "deadheading" through stations, as required by Amtrak for operations on the Northeast and Keystone Corridors. SEPTA's railroad reporting mark SEPA is the official mark for their revenue equipment, though it is rarely seen on external markings. SPAX can be seen on non-revenue work equipment, including boxcars, diesel locomotives, and other rolling stock.
The Silverliner coaches were first built by Budd in Philadelphia and used by the PRR in 1958 as a prototype intercity EMU alternative to the GG1-hauled trains. Similarly designed cars were purchased in 1963 as the Silverliner II, in 1967 as the Silverliner III, and the Silverliner IV in 1973.
The Silverliner V, a more modern version of the railcar was introduced in 2010. A total of 120 cars were purchased for $274 million, and they were constructed in facilities located in South Philadelphia and South Korea by Hyundai Rotem. The cars were built with wider seats and quarter point doors for easier boarding or departing at high-level stations in Center City. The Silverliner V cars represent one-third of SEPTA's regional rail fleet. Four of SEPTA's Silverliner V cars (single cars 735 and 736, and married pair 871/872) are owned by DART First State. DART-owned railcars are not restricted to the Wilmington/Newark line and are used system-wide.
In late 2014, and the beginning of early 2015, SEPTA began the "Rebuilding for the Future" campaign that will replace all deteriorated rolling stock and rail lines with new, modernized, equipment, including ACS-64 locomotives, bi-level cars, and better signaling. The ACS-64 locomotives for push-pull trains arrived in 2018. An order of 45 multi-level railcars from CRRC Massachusetts was placed in 2017. They were intended to be delivered beginning in 2019, but repeated delays, design flaws, and quality control issues caused the order to be cancelled in April 2024.
In March 2026, SEPTA purchased 24 retired Comet II coaches (cab cars #701-708 and trailers #720-735) from Exo in Montreal at auction for $9.7 million. The cars were delivered to SEPTA on September 19th, 2026.
SEPTA passenger rolling stock includes:
Electric multiple units
YearMakeModelNumbersTypeTotalTare(Ton/t)SeatsNotesGEmarried pairs8862.5/56.8125Ex-Reading.95Ex-Penn Central. Unit 304 repainted to Conrail heritage livery.44Units renumbered when PCB transformers were replaced with silicone transformers.single cars28Units 280 and 293 repainted to Reading heritage livery.Unit 276 repainted to Pennsylvania Railroad heritage livery. 16Units renumbered when PCB transformers were replaced with silicone transformers.Unit 401 repainted to Penn Central heritage livery. 2010–13RotemSilverliner V701–738single cars3862.5/56.8110Replacements for 70 older Silverliner II and Silverliner III cars; will also add capacity. First three cars entered revenue service October 29, 2010; delivery completed as of March 21, 2013. In July 2016, all units temporarily withdrawn due to cracks on some of the components and began returning to service in September 2016.801–882married pairs82 Push-pull passenger cars YearMakeModelTypeNumbersTotalTare (Ton/t)SeatsNotes1987BombardierCab cars1050/45.4118Trailers251311999Trailers10117These cars have a center door on each side for high level only boarding.1989Cab cars5Ex-Exo; acquired in 2026. Former Exo cab cars #702-704 converted to trailers. Trailers19
Locomotives YearMakeModelNumbersTotalHpTare(Ton/t)Notes2018Siemens158,600107.5/97.6Entered service on . Replaced and fleet.
Electrification
All lines used by SEPTA are electrified with overhead catenary supplying alternating current at 12 kV with a frequency of 25 Hz. The system on the former PRR side is owned and operated by Amtrak, part of the electrification of the Northeast Corridor. The electrification on the Reading side is owned by SEPTA. The Amtrak system was originally built by the PRR between 1915 and 1938. The SEPTA-owned system was originally built by the Reading starting in 1931. The two systems are not electrically connected. After construction of the Center City Commuter Connection, the two electrical systems now meet near Girard Avenue at a "phase break," a short section of unpowered track, which trains coast across. The gap is necessary because the two electrical systems are not kept in synchronization with each other.
The entire system uses 12 kV / 25 Hz overhead catenary lines that were erected by the PRR and Reading railroads between 1915 and 1938. All current SEPTA equipment is compatible with the power supplies on both the ex-PRR (Amtrak-supplied) and ex-Reading (SEPTA-supplied) sides of the system; the "phase break" is at the northern entrance to the Center City commuter tunnel between Jefferson Station and Temple University Station.
Yards and maintenance facilities
SEPTA has five major yards and facilities for the storage and maintenance of regional rail trains: Frazer Yard, in Frazer, Pennsylvania, along the Paoli/Thorndale Line; services push-pull train sets.