Extensive changes are on the way for riders of SEPTA’s Media/Wawa, Airport and Wilmington/Newark Regional Rail lines.
Penn Medicine Station, in University City, will temporarily close and the Media/Wawa Line will be briefly suspended due to construction set to begin Saturday. The infrastructure project is expected to be finished by Aug. 26, SEPTA officials said.
No trains or shuttles will run along the Media/Wawa route from Monday, July 24, through Friday, July 28. This coming weekend, and on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the construction, riders can board the train from Wawa to Swarthmore and then catch a bus to 30th Street Station. Beginning July 31, weekday trains will run between the Wawa and 49th Street stops.
Other riders who use Penn Medicine Station will be able to ride a shuttle back and forth between 30th Street, according to SEPTA.
On the Airport Line, weekday train service will operate hourly from the Amtrak platforms at 30th Street. No direct service will be provided from Suburban, Jefferson or Temple University stations. Weekend riders will have to take shuttle buses from 30th Street to the airport terminals.
While crews are working, the Wilmington/Newark Line will also end at 30th Street, instead of continuing on into Center City.
Schedule changes will be implemented on the three lines, and riders of other lines whose trains usually continue onto one of the three lines may be affected. For a complete list of adjustments, go to septa.org.
The construction project is the final phase of the Southwest Connection Improvement Program, which began in 2018 to rehabilitate sections of track in West Philadelphia. Work has taken place annually during the summer, when ridership is typically lowest.
This year, crews will focus on replacing and repairing infrastructure in the track area near Penn Medicine Station, transit officials said. Portions of the line date back more than 80 years, according to SEPTA.
