Route 10,[a] currently in the rebranding stage to become T1, it is one of the five routes that is part of the SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines that connects the 13th Street station in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the 63rd Street–Malvern Avenue station in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia. Service is operated by the City Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. It is 11.6 mi (18.7 km) long. It is the least used subway-surface trolley line, but unlike Route 11, the most used subway-surface trolley line, it has overnight service.

Route 10 (T1)
The Route 10 trolley before it enters the 36th Street portal
Overview
Termini
Stations6 underground stations, a surface level station, and 32 street-level stops
Service
SystemSEPTA Metro
Operator(s)SEPTA
Depot(s)Callowhill Depot
Daily ridership11,589 (2019 weekday ridership)
Technical
Line length11.6 mi (18.7 km)[citation needed]
Track gauge5 ft 2+14 in (1,581 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge[1][2]
ElectrificationOverhead line600 V DC
Route map
Map
13th Street
15th Street
19th Street
22nd Street
30th Street
33rd Street
36th Street Portal
36th & Market
36th & Lancaster
Lancaster & Powelton
Lancaster & 38th
Lancaster & Saunders
Lancaster & Spring Garden
Lancaster & Haverford
diversion tracks
to 40th and Market
Lancaster & 40th
Lancaster & Wallace
Lancaster & 41st
Lancaster & 42nd
Lancaster & Parrish
Lancaster & 43rd
Lancaster & Ogden
Lancaster & 44th
Lancaster & Westminster
Lancaster & 45th
Lancaster & Wyalusing
Lancaster & 47th
Lancaster & 48th
Lancaster & Girard
Lancaster & 49th
Lancaster & Thompson
Lancaster & 50th
Lancaster & Media
Lancaster & 52nd
Lancaster & Bible
Lancaster & Lansdowne
Lansdowne & 54th
Lansdowne & 55th
Lansdowne & 56th
Lansdowne & 57th
Lansdowne & 58th
Lansdowne & 59th
Lansdowne & 60th
Lansdowne & 61st
Lansdowne & 62nd
Lansdowne & 63rd
non-revenue track to 63rd & Haverford
63rd & Jefferson
63rd & Columbia
63rd & Lebanon
63rd & Malvern
Overbrook

Route description

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Starting from its eastern terminus at 13th Street, Route 10 runs in a subway tunnel under Market Street. It has underground station stops at 15th Street, 19th Street, 22nd Street, 30th Street, and 33rd Street. From 15th to 30th Streets, it runs on the outer tracks of the Market Street subway tunnel used by SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line. Passengers may transfer free of charge to the Market–Frankford Line at 13th Street, 15th Street, and 30th Street and to the Broad Street Line at 15th Street. Connections to the SEPTA Regional Rail can be made at either 15th Street Station or 30th Street Station . There is an underground passageway that connects the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad's 30th Street Station to the Market–Frankford Line's 30th Street subway station, but this has long been sealed off due to high crime. An underground passageway continues to serve between the 13th and 15th Streets stations and Jefferson Station and Suburban Station, respectively.

Route 10 exits the subway at the 36th Street Portal, where as the other subway–surface routes (11, 13, 34, and 36) surface at the 40th Street Portal. Route 10 then runs north on 36th Street, passing the former University City High School (now demolished) and University City Science Center as it approaches Lancaster Avenue (US 30). At Lancaster Avenue there is a wye cutback, which at one point connected to the former subway–surface trolley Route 38 to Lancaster Avenue when the Route 10 Line continued straight down Lancaster Avenue to Market Street, where it connected to a now-closed subway entrance at 23rd & Market Streets.

Continuing northwest on Lancaster Avenue, the Route 10 line crosses over 40th Street, where there is a southbound track which diverts Route 10 to 40th & Market Streets MFL station when the trolley subway tunnel is closed. At 41st Street there is a northbound track by which Route 10 returns from 40th & Market Streets Station. The tracks on 40th and 41st Streets continue north of Lancaster Avenue (part of the PTC Route 40 trolley line until September 9, 1956[3]) to Girard Avenue and connect to the surface streetcar trolley Route 15.

Continuing northwest along Lancaster Avenue to 48th Street, Route 10 intersects Girard Avenue, where trolley Route 15 trackage joins that of Route 10; as Girard is offset by Lancaster Avenue, the two routes briefly share tracks before Route 15 turns left to continue up Girard Avenue.

At 52nd Street the line reaches Lansdowne Avenue, where another cutback loop exists, installed in 1996 for emergency or schedule adjustments only. Route 10 turns west on Lansdowne Avenue and at 60th Street, where now-abandoned tracks end just short of the line. These tracks once belonged to SEPTA Bus Route 46 when it was a trolley line (abandoned on August 11, 1957[3]), and later served as pull-in/pull-out tracks for Route 10 before it was moved to SEPTA's Elmwood Depot. When Route 10 moved back to Callowhill Depot in the 2000s, trolleys pulled-in/pulled-out to Callowhill Depot via 63rd Street instead, using the outer end of Route 15 along with trackage which once belonged to the Route 41 trolley (abandoned on August 11, 1957,[3] and now served by SEPTA Bus Route 31, another former subway–surface line until 1949). Route 10 turns north from Lansdowne onto 63rd Street, on which the line continues until it finally reaches the Malvern Loop, which has two (formerly three) tracks, sharing the off-street loop with SEPTA Bus Route 46.

History

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Route 10 was established sometime before 1887. On December 15, 1906, the line was integrated into the subway–surface trolley system by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and was extended to 63rd & Malvern Streets.[4] In 1929, it was rerouted so that it went on Landsowne and 61st rather than on Girard, replacing part of Route 44.

In 2020, two route 10 trolleys collided in West Philadelphia, injuring 46.[5]

In 2021, SEPTA proposed rebranding their rail transit service as "SEPTA Metro", in order to make the system easier to navigate. Under this proposal, the subway–surface lines will be rebranded as the "T" lines with a green color and numeric suffixes for each service and Route 10 would be renamed "T1 Lancaster Avenue."[6][7] SEPTA described that "most comments were positive" in the public comment period for this rebranding project.[8]

SEPTA trolley modernization proposed new ALSTOM trolley vehicles, which will be delivered from 2027-2030, as well as extending Route 10 to Overbrook station. This would make Route 10 a more frequent route.

Stations and stops

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All are located in the City of Philadelphia.

Neighborhood Images Station or stop Connections Notes
Market East   13th Street   SEPTA Metro:   Market–Frankford Line,   Route 10,   Route 34,   Route 13,   Route 11,   Route 36
  SEPTA City Bus: 27, 31, 32
Closed between 12:30–5:00am
Penn Center   15th Street   SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines (at Suburban)
  SEPTA Metro:   Broad Street Line (at City Hall),   Market–Frankford Line,   Route 10,   Route 34,   Route 13,   Route 11,   Route 36
  SEPTA City Bus:4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48
  SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
Late night terminus
  19th Street   SEPTA Metro:   Route 10,   Route 34,   Route 13,   Route 11,   Route 36
  SEPTA City Bus: 17, 31, 38, 44, 48, 62, 78
  SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124
Center City West   22nd Street   SEPTA Metro:   Route 10,   Route 34,   Route 13,   Route 11,   Route 36
  SEPTA City Bus: 7, 31, 44, 62
  SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
Replaced 24th Street station
University City   Drexel Station at 30th Street   Amtrak (at 30th Street)
  NJ Transit: ACL Atlantic City Line (at 30th Street)
  SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines (at 30th Street)
  SEPTA Metro:   Market–Frankford Line,   Route 10,   Route 34,   Route 13,   Route 11,   Route 36
  SEPTA City Bus: 31, 49, LUCY
No direct passage to 30th Street Station
  33rd Street   SEPTA Metro:   Route 10,   Route 34,   Route 13,   Route 11,   Route 36
  SEPTA City Bus: 30, 31, 49, LUCY
Serves Drexel University
  36th Street Portal
  36th & Market   SEPTA City Bus: LUCY
  36th & Lancaster
Powelton & Lancaster (WB)
Powelton Village 38th & Lancaster
Saunders & Lancaster
Spring Garden & Lancaster
40th & Lancaster   SEPTA City Bus: 30, 40, 43
Belmont Wallace & Lancaster   SEPTA City Bus: 43
41st & Lancaster   SEPTA City Bus: 31, 40, 43
42nd & Lancaster   SEPTA City Bus: 43
Parrish & Lancaster
Ogden & Lancaster (WB)
44th & Lancaster (EB)
  SEPTA City Bus: 43
Mill Creek Westminster & Lancaster (WB)
45th & Lancaster (EB)
  SEPTA City Bus: 64
Wyalusing & Lancaster
47th & Lancaster
48th & Lancaster
Girard & Lancaster   SEPTA Metro:   Route 15 Trolley
Carroll Park 49th & Lancaster
50th & Lancaster
Media & Lancaster (EB)
52nd & Lancaster (WB)
Lancaster & Lansdowne (EB)
  SEPTA City Bus: 52
Overbrook 54th & Lansdowne
55th & Lansdowne
56th & Lansdowne
57th & Lansdowne   SEPTA City Bus: G
58th & Lansdowne
59th & Lansdowne
60th & Lansdowne   SEPTA City Bus: 46
61st & Lansdowne
62nd & Lansdowne
63rd & Lansdowne   SEPTA City Bus: 31
Jefferson & 63rd
Columbia & 63rd (WB)
Lebanon & 63rd (EB)
  SEPTA City Bus: 46
  63rd & Malvern   SEPTA City Bus: 46, 65, G
  SEPTA Suburban Bus: 105
Five blocks to Overbrook Regional Rail station

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Also known as the Lancaster Avenue Trolley Line

Citations

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  1. ^ "The history of trolley cars and routes in Philadelphia". SEPTA. June 1, 1974. p. 2. Retrieved June 11, 2014. An early city ordinance prescribed that all tracks were to have a gauge of 5' 214"
  2. ^ Hilton, George W.; Due, John Fitzgerald (January 1, 2000). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804740142. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Borgnis, Mervin E. (1995). An inside story of PRT & PTC. Pleasantville, New Jersey: Mervin E. Borgnis. pp. 168–169.
  4. ^ 1974 SEPTA Trolleys Brochure
  5. ^ cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/notable-septa-train-accidents-20170822.html%7Cpublisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|accessdate=September 15, 2020
  6. ^ Vitarelli, Alicia; Staff (September 7, 2021). "SEPTA Metro? Transit agency mulling big changes including new name, map, and signage". Philadelphia, PA: WPVI-TV. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  7. ^ "Wayfinding Recommendations". SEPTA. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "Design Concept Feedback". planning.septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
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