Just in case you didn't hear, Trenton Station just opened its main concourse. This area was nicely remodeled, and is a part of the 60 million dollar project to remodel the station.
See the pictures here: http://philadelphiatransitforums.cjb.net/index.php?showtopic=1616
New General Manager Joe Casey is certainly making good on his promise to focus on customer service. This is why he created a new Assistant General Manager position to manage customer service operations.
Kim Scott Heinle was hired for this new position, and he will be responsible for coming up with new communication strategies to determine passenger proporities, creating a customer-friendly system, and motivating staff (such as drivers, cashiers, etc) to develop positive relationships with SEPTA customers.
Read more about Heinle and his new job in the SEPTA press release: http://www.septa.org/news/press_releases/20080424.html
The new Regional Rail schedules will be effective May 11, 2008. You can preview the schedules at the following location on the SEPTA website: http://www.septa.org/service/preview_schedules.html
Since SEPTA isn't using the Newtown Branch right-of-way, they decided to lease the lower part of the branch to Montgomery County for 1 dollar. The county will convert the right-of-way into a multi-use public trail, expanding the network of trails in the county.
You can read the entire agreement by viewing this Adobe document: here
Now that 46th Street Station is open, the 31S service has been discontinued. Also, routes 64 and 31 will return to their original routings before the closure of the station (the 31 will still operate via Walnut/Chestnut Streets).
Finally, the Norristown Transportation Center Garage opened all 522 spaces last week on Monday, April 7th. Parking was free for SEPTA riders last week, and this week regular rates apply. However, those with a valid TransPass, Trailpass, or pack of 10 trip tickets will get a discounted rate.
The Norristown Garage will be open Monday thru Friday, from 5AM to 1AM. Both SEPTA users and non-SEPTA users can use the garage, although the non-SEPTA users will have to pay more money. The starting time for the intercity service has not yet been announced, especially since the waiting area has not been completed yet.
For more information about the Norristown Transportation Center Garage, please visit: http://www.septa.org/service/parking/ntcparking.html
Due to concrete ties that need replacement, Amtrak will begin a long term trackwork project to replace them. This project will begin on May 11, 2008, and will take out one track on the Corridor at a time.
New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor line is directly affected by this project. There will be boarding and schedule changes (including delays) for passengers of Trenton, Hamilton and Princeton Junction Stations. NJT plans to issue a new Northeast Corridor schedule every 8 to 10 weeks to reflect the location of the tie replacement and to minimize delays. There is no information on how the tie replacement may affect SEPTA service on the R7.
More information on New Jersey Transit's site: http://www.njtransit.com/sa/sa_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=CustomerNoticeTo&NoticeId=2042
The time the first Trackless Trolley Run was changed. As reported by TransitChuckG in the forums, the run was switched from the 12:40 bus leaving Frankford to the bus that leaves the Transportation Center at 3:57. This bus stays out on the line until 12:30 PM.
On a side note, trolleys up to #809 is at Frankford.
Frontier's 4525 ran off the road at Norristown State Hospital, crashing into a guard rail and then a fence. This bus was running on the 90 enroute to Plymouth Meeting Mall. Two people were hurt in this accident. The bus itself is damaged, but it is surely in a fixable state.
Article (with picture) here: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=…ffic&id=6073042
TRACKLESS TROLLEY CHARTER
sponsored by
FRIENDS OF PHILADELPHIA TROLLEYS
Come ride one of the New Flyer Trackless Trolleys on Rts 59, 66, & 75
Date: Sunday, June 1, 2008
Fare: $35.00 p/p
Departure: SEPTA's Frankford Depot
Time: 11.00AM til 3.00PM
No formal lunch stop; snacks and drinks available for purchase on the coach
To reserve a seat, please send a check made out to FPT,Inc. and mail to:
Harry Donahue, 103 Mulberry Court, Morgantown, PA 19543
Book your seats early as there will be no standees. We may consider running a second charter on Sunday, June 29, if the June 1 date sells out.
Need any other info? Contact: had2709@aol.com
