SEPTA Main Line

Not to be confused with Philadelphia Main Line.

The SEPTA Main Line is the section of the SEPTA Regional Rail system from the Zoo Interlocking in West Philadelphia to Lansdale Station in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. The line is 26.25 miles (42.25 km) long, and serves all 13 SEPTA Regional Rail lines.

Glenside Combined
A train operating on the SEPTA Main Line arrives at Fern Rock Transportation Center
Overview
Status	Operating
Owner	SEPTA
Termini	Zoo Interlocking Lansdale Station
Stations	20
Website	septa.org
Service
Type	Commuter rail line
System	SEPTA Regional Rail
Operator(s)	SEPTA Regional Rail
Technical
Line length	26.25 miles (42.25 km)
Number of tracks	2–4
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 12 kV 25 Hz AC
Route map Bethlehem Line DOY to Doylestown 24.4 mi 39.3 km Lansdale 24.2 mi 38.9 km Stony Creek Branch 23.5 mi 37.8 km Pennbrook 22.4 mi 36 km North Wales Zone  4  3 20.0 mi 32.2 km Gwynedd Valley 18.8 mi 30.3 km Penllyn 17.2 mi 27.7 km Ambler 15.9 mi 25.6 km Fort Washington 13.8 mi 22.2 km Oreland 13.0 mi 20.9 km North Hills 12.1 mi 19.5 km WAR to Warminster 11.9 mi 19.2 km Glenside 10.8 mi 17.4 km WTR to West Trenton 10.7 mi 17.2 km Jenkintown–Wyncote Zone  3  2 9.2 mi 14.8 km Elkins Park 8.4 mi 13.5 km Melrose Park Zone  2  1 7.0 mi 11.3 km Fern Rock T.C. 6.2 mi 10 km FOX to Fox Chase 5.2 mi 8.4 km Wayne Junction 5.1 mi 8.2 km CHE to Chestnut Hill East 3.5 mi 5.6 km CHW 3.5 mi 5.6 km NOR to Norristown–Elm Street 3.2 mi 5.1 km Northeast Corridor 2.9 mi 4.7 km North Broad ( North Philadelphia ) Zone  1  C 2.1 mi 3.4 km Temple University to Frankford T.C. 0.5 mi 0.8 km Jefferson | 11th Street 13th Street to NRG 0 mi 0 km Suburban | 15th Street 19th Street 22nd Street 0.76 mi 1.22 km Schuylkill River 0.90 mi 1.45 km 30th Street | | 1.17 mi 1.88 km AIR WAW NWK 1.90 mi 3.06 km Keystone Corridor (Main Line) to Harrisburg

Service

Service on the Main Line segment between Glenside and Center City Philadelphia is given a special combined public timetable known as the Glenside Combined, allowing riders to see the schedules of all trains on the Main Line without having to look at multiple schedules. This is a partial legacy of SEPTA's former diametrical reorganization route number designations, which had the R1 Glenside designation for trains that terminated at the station, paired with the Airport Line. A contributing factor to the elimination of the R-number naming system came in the fact that few trains actually terminated there, instead continuing on to stations farther out.

As of 2024, northbound trains on the Main Line that do not terminate at Glenside continue as Lansdale/Doylestown Line, Warminster Line, or West Trenton Line trains.

History

The Main Line was mostly built by the North Pennsylvania Railroad. However, the oldest section was part of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N), the first railroad in Philadelphia. The first section of it opened on June 7, 1832, from downtown to Germantown (now on the Chestnut Hill East Line). Later a new alignment was built to Norristown, leaving the old route from North Philadelphia to Germantown as a branch; this is now the Manayunk/Norristown Line. The PG&N south of Wayne Junction, the Ninth Street Branch, is now part of the Main Line.

The North Pennsylvania Railroad (North Penn) opened south of Gwynedd (north of Glenside) on July 2, 1855, and the continuation to Lansdale (including the branch to Doylestown, now the Lansdale/Doylestown Line) opened October 7. The short part of the Main Line from Wayne Junction northeast to north of Newtown Junction was built as a connection to the PG&N at Wayne Junction.

On December 1, 1870, the Philadelphia and Reading Railway (later the Reading Company) leased the PG&N. The North Penn was leased May 1, 1879, placing the future "Reading side" of the SEPTA Main Line under Reading control. Electrification to Glenside, Hatboro, Lansdale, Doylestown and West Trenton was completed on July 26, 1931. In 1976 Conrail took over the Reading, and in 1983 SEPTA gained control of the commuter operations. The Center City Commuter Connection was tied into the former Reading Ninth Street Branch on November 12, 1984, completing the SEPTA Main Line as it is defined today.

SEPTA activated positive train control on the Main Line from Glenside to Fern Rock on December 12, 2016 and from Fern Rock to 30th Street on January 9, 2017.

Other uses

See also: Philadelphia Main Line and Main Line of Public Works

The term "Main Line" is also sometimes used on the SEPTA Regional Rail system to refer to the Paoli/Thorndale Line, which runs along the original main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which is now Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line.

External links

• "SEPTA - Glenside Combined schedule" (PDF).