News

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: [email protected]

After being closed for approximately a year, the new 46th Street Station will open for service on April 14, 2008.  This station is essentially the same as the other stations along the Market Street elevated.

Earlier we mentioned that SEPTA was looking to temporarily increase capacity on the Regional Rail system by leasing or purchasing some used commuter coaches until the Silverliner Vs arrive.  SEPTA has decided to purchase Comet I trailer cars from New Jersey Transit so that all push-pull trains will be seven cars long.

The first official trackless trolley run will be on Monday, April 14th, 2008.  This trip on the 66 will leave the Frankford Transportation Center at 12:40 AM (yes, that's the early morning midnight hour).  SEPTA would like to try the trackless on the hills with passengers.

On Friday, there were "wildcat" runs on the 59 and 66 using trackless #804.  This bus ran in revenue service, inbetween the scheduled buses.  View pictures in the multimedia gallery.

On Thursday, April 3, 2008, NJT's NABI demo, 5201, will be on dispay at the Atlantic City Bus terminal.  The bus will be on display from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM. 

This NABI is being showcased as a part of the annual TransAction transportation conference, which is taking place on April 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Atlantic City.  Details in this thread on Subchat: http://www.subchat.com/buschat/read.asp?Id=92072

 

Now, you can buy T-shirts, mugs, pens, and more that showcase DART First State.  See the store for more details: http://shop.delaware.gov/index.php?manufacturers_id=729

Coming very soon are two bus services that will offer very cheap fares between Philadelphia and New York.  Fares that are as low as 1 dollars (or even free at first).

The first one that will come in will be for the Greyhound/Peter Pan Boltbus service.  This service has just started in New York, and will soon stop in Philadelphia on April 10, 2008.  These buses have fares as low as a dollar (although initially the promotional fares have been free), and will feature amenities such as leather seating.  You may be able to ride this bus to DC as well, as it currently runs an NY to DC route.  For more details, visit www.boltbus.com.

The second one is a UK based service called Megabus.  It already operates popular service in the U.S. in the Midwest, and will operate its eastern division out of Elizabeth, NJ on May 30, 2008.  This will run an inexpensive route from 30th Street and 5th and Market, Philadelphia, to Penn Station, New York.  The fares will range from 1 dollar to 14 dollars one way.  For more details, visit http://www.megabus.com/us/.