Updated on 2/23/2024
These are the frequencies used throughout the SEPTA regional rail system and MFL/BSL lines. Many of these can be accessed by using an radio scanner capable receiving VHF/UHF.
As a note: owning a transceiver or scanner is legal. Transmitting on these frequencies is illegal.
| Tag | Frequency | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| SEPTA South | 160.350 / AAR 16 | South of Penn Medicine -> Airport or Media/Eywyn; Chestnut Hill West / Cynwyd Line / Media ** Used to communicate updates on Trenton / Malvern / Wilmington Lines to SEPTA dispatch |
| SEPTA North | 160.590 / AAR 32 | North of Temple station along Ex-RDG Mainline, Chestnut Hill East, Fox Chase, Warminster, West Trenton, Doylestown, Glenside and Norristown |
| SEPTA City | 160.380 / AAR 18 | Between University City (Penn Medicine) or Kay interlocking and Temple |
| SEPTA Yard | 160.395 / ARR 19 | Within Yard Limits (Robert’s, Powelton, Lenni, Frazer, etc.) |
SEPTA Dispatcher Desk Responsibilities
| Dispatcher | Lines |
|---|---|
| SEPTA-1 | Bethlehem Line (Running Track and Industrial Track, Dale to Telford), Doylestown Line, Main Line (Jenkin to Dale) , Stony Creek Branch, Warminster Line |
| SEPTA-2 | Fox Chase Line Main Line (Newtown Jct. to Jenkin) Neshaminy Line (Jenkin to Wood) CSX Trenton Sub (Newtown Jct. to Cheltenham Jct.) CSX Trenton Sub (CP-Wood to CP-Wing) |
| SEPTA-3 | Chestnut Hill East Line Main Line (16th Street jct to Newtown Jct.) Norristown Line |
| SEPTA-4 | Main Line (20th St. to Vine) |
| SEPTA-5 | Main Line (Kay to Schuylkill) / (Walnut to Schuylkill) |
| SEPTA-6 | Airport Line, Chestnut Hill West Line, Ivy Ridge Line / Cynwyd, West Chester Line / Media/Wawa (Glen Mills to Walnut) |
Line to Frequency Guide
| Line/Function | Frequency | Dispatcher |
|---|---|---|
| Airport | SEPTA South (160.350 MHZ / AAR 16 ) | SEPTA-5 from Schuylkill to Walnut / SEPTA-6 from Walnut to Airport |
| Chestnut Hill East | Amtrak (160.920 MHz) along the NEC SEPTA North (160.590 MHZ / AAR 32 ) along branch | SEPTA-3 from 16th Street JCT to Norristown |
| Chestnut Hill West | Amtrak (160.92 MHZ) SEPTA South (160.35 MHZ / AAR 16 ) | SEPTA-6 North Philadelphia Station (SEPTA trackage to Chestnut Hill West) |
| Cynwyd / Ivy Ridge | 1) Amtrak (160.92 MHZ/AAR54) along Harrisburg line until PAXON interlocking for westbound 2) SEPTA South (160.635 MHZ / AAR 16 ) on branch. 3) Amtrak (160.635 / AAR35) at Valley interlocking for eastbound | 1) Westbound trains Amtrak Zoo Tower to Jeff, SEPTA-6 (Jeff to End of Line) 2) SEPTA-6 (Start of line to Valley) Eastbound Amtrak eastbound Overbrook Tower from Jeff to Valley) Zoo Tower |
| Doylestown | SEPTA North (160.590 MHz / AAR 32) | SEPTA-1 |
| Fox Chase | SEPTA North (160.590 MHz) | SEPTA-2 |
| Main Line (Powelton Yard (Kay Interlock) or University City to Temple) | SEPTA City (160.380 MHz / AAR 18) | SEPTA-5 (Powelton Yard (Kay Interlock) or University City to Schuylkill ) SEPTA-4 (Schuylkill to Temple Station) |
| Main Line (Temple to Dale) | SEPTA North (160.590 MHz / AAR 32) | SEPTA-4 (Temple to 16th street JCT) /SEPTA-3 ( 16th street JCT to Dale) |
| Media/Wawa | SEPTA South (160.350 MHz / AAR 16 ) | SEPTA-5 from Schuylkill to Walnut / SEPTA-6 from Walnut to Wawa |
| Norristown | SEPTA North (160.590 MHz / AAR 32) | SEPTA-3 |
| Paoli-Thorndale | Amtrak (160.635 MHz) | Amtrak Zoo (From Kay to Woodbine Interlocking), Overbrook Interlocking, Poali (Bryn Mawr and Poali Interlocking), Thorn Tower |
| Warminster | SEPTA North (160.590 MHz / AAR 32 ) | SEPTA-1 |
| West Trenton | SEPTA North (160.590 MHz / AAR 32 ) | SEPTA-2 |
| Yard | 160.395 | Simplex for yards – Frazer, Roberts, Powelton, etc |
SEPTA Transit Frequencies
These are frequencies which are used on the Subway. The bus frequencies are on a trunking system. As far as listening – any scanner capable of receiving 502mhz such as an Uniden scanner – you can listen to SEPTA operation. However there is a catch with listening to these frequencies conventially – you will run into a data channel disputing the scan! You be better off with a Trunking scanner!
| Line | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Broad Street Subway | 502.7625 MHz |
| Market-Frankford Line | 502.7875 MHz |
| Subway-Surface Lines | Trunking |
| Norristown High-Speed Line | Trunking |
| SEPTA Suburban and City Bus | Trunking |
| Media & Sharon Hill Lines | Trunking |
http://www.scannerdigest.com/files/phlcomm-misc-regional-2014.pdf
Here is some more infomation
Motorola 502 MHz Trunked Radio Frequency Plan
Freq Input Chan
502.6125 R (trunked) 01
502.4875 R (trunked) 02
502.5375 R (trunked) 03
502.5625 R (trunked) 04
502.6375 R (trunked) 05
502.7125 R (trunked) 06
502.5875 R (trunked) 07
Trunked System Repeater Sites
Bacton Hill, Domino Lane, W. Rockhill Twp., Y-100 Tower, 17th & Sansom, Oxford Valley Mall
SEPTA Conventional UHF Frequency Plan
Rptr. Or Base Input or Mob. Chan Use Tone
502.6875 R (505.6875) 10 SEPTA Transit Police* CS
502.7375 R (505.7375) 12 Maintenance of Way CS
502.7625 R (505.7625) 13 Broad Street Line Trains/Supervisors CS
502.7875 R (505.7875) 14 Market-Frankford Line Trains/Supervisors CS
504.1375 (simplex) 15 Yard Operations/Maintenance Simplex CS
For Trunking frequencies and setup