Philadelphia is offering the “most convenient travel of any host city” for the FIFA World Cup, SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer told reporters Wednesday.
The remark came as authority leaders went over improvements to NRG Station, the transit gateway for the tens of thousands of fans expected to take the subway to the six international soccer matches being held at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.
Trains on the B, formerly known as the Broad Street Line, will arrive at NRG (located at Pattison Avenue) every four or five minutes in the two-to-three hour period before kickoff, according to MaryAnn Tierney, chief officer of SEPTA’s control center.
“I want to stress, even with this high level of extra service, it is going to take extra time to get here and back,” she said.
SEPTA is projecting between 55,000 and 57,000 B trips for the matches, which will be held June 14, June 19, June 22, June 25, June 27 and July 4 at Lincoln Financial Field (referred to as Philadelphia Stadium during the tournament).
Officials have modeled the possibility of 40,000 spectators leaving immediately following the final whistle. Clearing such crowds could take two to two-and-a-half hours, given the B has the capacity to transport 15,000 riders an hour, according to SEPTA.
Despite some suggestions to the contrary, the authority is not planning to open up the long dormant lower platform at NRG to handle the crush of World Cup fans.
“We can run a very efficient operation using the upper level platforms,” Sauer said. “The lower level platforms are very narrow. They present some real logistical challenges for managing the numbers of folks that we're going to bring into this station.”
Tierney encouraged ticketholders to remain inside the stadium for post-match festivities or head over to Stateside Live to avoid the rush at the turnstiles.
Sauer and Tierney expressed confidence that SEPTA can continue providing the same service to everyday passengers, even as it ramps up capacity in some areas for the World Cup and this summer’s other special events.
Crews have recently resurfaced the platform, installed a new roof, replaced the ventilation system, enhanced lighting and added new signage to NRG, SEPTA officials said. Projects have also been completed to spruce up the City Hall, 2nd Street, Fern Rock and Oregon stops, along with improvements at Regional Rail stations in Center City, according to the authority.
SEPTA received $5.5 million in federal operating funding to assist with the World Cup and other 2026 events.
“With SEPTA's long-term funding still unsettled, we were strategic and cost-conscious when allocating resources for these improvements, and we managed to find a balance that will benefit customers for both the short- and long-term,” Sauer said.
The security deployment in and around transportation hubs for the World Cup is going to be the “largest in the history of SEPTA,” Transit Police Chief Charles Lawson said. State and regional law enforcement, he added, would be joining transit officers at key locations.
Riders are “going to see a high level of security that involves our canines patrolling the system and conducting sweeps,” Lawson continued. “Some of our specialists [will be] carrying weaponry that they're not used to seeing during their normal morning or afternoon commute. None of this is meant to cause any concern in any way.”
The authority last week permanently reopened the South Broad underground concourse, which connects 15th Street/City Hall and Walnut-Locust stations, for the first time since 2020, to help ease crowding.
SEPTA, unlike multiple other regional transit agencies, has committed to not raising its $2.90 fare, and post-match trips from NRG will be free through a sponsorship with Airbnb.
On FIFA gamedays, the B and L, the new name for the Market-Frankford Line, will run all night, with service every 30 minutes to select stations. Late-night trains will be added to most Regional Rail lines on June 19 and July 4.
Frequency will also be ramped up beginning Thursday on bus routes 32 and 48, for travel to and from the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill.
Hundreds of SEPTA ambassadors, donning blue vests, will be stationed throughout the system to help answer questions from riders.
For schedules and more details, visit septa.org.
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