The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (or, SEPTA) runs near hourly train service to most suburban Philadelphia cities, including also going to Trenton, NJ to make connections on Amtrak or New Jersey Transit. SEPTA Regional train service is a fast, convenient way to get to and from the city of Philadelphia, and in the many times taking it, I’ve never encountered any significant delays.
I boarded the SEPTA train in Woodbourne, enroute to Philadelphia’s Suburban station, which is in the heart of the city by City Hall, just one stop from Philadelphia’s 30th Street station, home to Amtrak.
The train arrived exactly on time. Most regional rail trains consist of only two cars, and you’ll only find them particularly busy during peak times.
I boarded, and took my seat in the carriage, which is laid out in a 3 seat by seat configuration. With this train not being busy, I sat on the 3-person side, with my Tumi backpack and Rimowa suitcase next to me, which gave me space to work on my laptop.
The train makes about 10 stops enroute to the city, each one picking up only a few passengers. To purchase tickets for the SEPTA, you have two options – one is to purchase a ticket at their staffed ticket counters within the city, or the other to buy a ticket onboard the train from the onboard conductor.
Why Use SEPTA?
- The train carriages are relatively clean.
- The fares are cheap, and it’s convenient to buy a ticket onboard.
- Trains almost always run on-time.
- You avoid traffic driving into Center City.
If you’re taking Amtrak into 30th Street, it’s worth noting that holding an Amtrak ticket gives you a free transfer from 30th Street to either Suburban or Jefferson stations, which is very nice, as 30th Street isn’t quite within the “action” of the city itself.
What has your experience been riding SEPTA?
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
Sounds like you may have taken SEPTA on a weekend. Weekday service trains normally have at last 5 cars per train and during peak periods are filled to capacity.
A service you didn’t mention, but may be of interest to your readers, is the SEPTA Regional Rail Airport Line.
http://www.septa.org/welcome/airport.html
SEPTA offers very convenient service, twice per hour, for riders to each of the terminals at Philadelphia International Airport.
The service is by no means a monorail like at Newark International but does provide a good option for easy access to the airport. Connections from all the Regional lines is possible at the three center city stations: Jefferson Station, Suburban Station and 30th Street Station.