SEPTAs Trolleys Halted During Their Trolley Tunnel Blitz

Philadelphia, Pa, Wednesday, July 16, 2014 – SEPTA is following a trend other transit agencies around the country are practicing, an intensive 24/7 period of maintenance that requires a service outage for a period of time and is being nicknamed the ‘Trolley Tunnel Blitz’ for the Center City Trolley Tunnel. Beginning August 1, 2014, a 17-day period of no trolleys operating on Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36 which will be repaired for the over 5-mile tunnel route. These routes be diverted to 40th and Market streets and riders may transfer at 40th Street to the Market-Frankford Line for service to and from Center City.

New welded trolley rail, track switches, emergency lighting cables, and overhead wire are part of the maintenance program.

In a press release, SEPTA said, “Given that the Trolley Tunnel is a 5+ mile long, single track line, the length of our regular service day, and the number of Trolley routes operating through the tunnel it would take many months of night and weekend outages, spread out over the year, to complete the amount of work we have planned during this Blitz. An extended work window, during a traditionally low ridership period, makes it possible for our Track, Power, Communications and Signals, and Bridges and Buildings Maintenance Departments to efficiently complete important construction and maintenance projects that will benefit our customers."

The project is funded the Act 89 dedicated funding bill that provides the resources needed for SEPTA to begin Rebuilding for the Future. The Trolley Tunnel Blitz is part of a comprehensive infrastructure and revitalization program that tackles a $5 billion backlog of projects, including bridge replacements, substation, overhauls, and station improvements.