New schedules and a few route changes went into effect Sunday for a handful of Regional Rail lines.
Most significantly affected is the Wilmington/Newark Line, where SEPTA trains are now sharing tracks with Amtrak to accommodate maintenance and repairs to the railway between Darby and Marcus Hook stations.
SEPTA is advising riders to allot extra time for possible delays. Most trains are arriving earlier, but some are operating several minutes later.
At many of the Delaware County stops, riders have to use a wooden walkway to access the inner tracks. Amtrak, which is overseeing the maintenance, expects construction to last through May.
On the West Trenton Line, two trains that left New Jersey at 6:43 a.m. and 7:04 a.m. have been combined into one trip leaving at 6:54 a.m. That train is an express from Bethayres to Center City, arriving at Suburban Station at 8:01 a.m., according to SEPTA.
In the afternoon, outbound trains from Suburban that previously departed at 3:42 p.m. and 4:58 p.m. are now combined into one train leaving at 4:02 p.m. that will express to Jenkintown-Wyncote.
For Lansdale/Doylestown Line riders, trains are departing from and ending at 30th Street Station, instead of Penn Medicine Station. In addition, several trains are no longer continuing to the Wilmington/Newark Line.
A train on the Warminster/Glenside Line that used to leave Glenside at 2:28 p.m. is now coming 20 minutes later, and a new train is running from 30th Street to Glenside at 3:42 p.m.
The Regional Rail network is still running 25% fewer trains than prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and SEPTA officials the changes will not affect that number.
In general, Regional Rail ridership levels have not recovered as quickly as the rates on the buses and subways. Currently, there are about half as many rail riders as there were before COVID-19.
The latest round of alterations does not affect the Airport, Chestnut Hill East/West, Cynwyd, Fox Chase, Manayunk/Norristown, Media/Wawa, Paoli/Thorndale or Trenton lines.
For more detailed information on departure times, go to septa.org or grab a copy of the new schedules.
