Line of the Week: Broad Street Line
June 7, 2021
This week, we're taking a look at 10 miles and 22 stations of one of SEPTA's most familiar routes, the Broad Street Line! Stretching from Fern Rock Transportation Center to NRG Station, the BSL's local trains run every 7 minutes during AM and PM rush. Train times vary for the rest of the day, but the longest length between train times is 12 minutes. Express trains also run on a separate track and stop at 8 of the 22 stations - but don't operate between 10a and 2p.
The Broad Street Line is the second-most traveled SEPTA route, just behind the Market-Frankford Line.
The Broad Street Line took its inaugural trip over 92 years ago, on September 1, 1928. At that point, it only traveled between Olney Station and City Hall. It wouldn't extend to Walnut-Locust until 1930 and to Snyder Station until 1938. It took until 1973 (the year the Sports Complex opened) before it reached Pattison Avenue, known now as NRG Station.
In 1975, the Broad Street Line played host to the State-of-the-Art Car. The State-of-the-Art Car (SOAC) was a heavy rail mass transit demonstrator vehicle produced for the United States Department of Transportation's Urban Mass Transportation Administration in the 1970s. It was intended to demonstrate the latest technologies to operating agencies and the riding public, and serve to promote existing and proposed transit lines. It operated in intermittent revenue service on six rapid transit systems in five United States cities, visiting Philadelphia in 1975.
You can ride the Broad Street Line to so many great spots across the city. Ride it to Cecil B. Moore station to explore Temple University's Campus. Or take it south to explore the restaurants and stores along East Passyunk. And now - you take the BSL to sporting events again at the Sports Complex. Citizens Bank Park, Wells Fargo Center, and Lincoln Financial Field are all walking distance from NRG Station.
This week - you can also take the Broad Street Line to the Philadelphia Flower Show - the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event. For the first time ever - the Flower Show will be hosted outdoors at FDR Park in South Philly - a short walk from NRG Station. The Show’s theme, “HABITAT: Nature’s Masterpiece,” will explore the beauty of life through nature’s kaleidoscopic lens. Visitors should be ready to see exceptional beauty, learn from a diverse line-up of designers and leading horticulturalists, and enter a new gardener-centric experience that invites everyone at all skill levels to nurture a lifelong connection to plants and gardening.
Before you leave the house, there are a few things you'll want to remember. Check to make sure you have your SEPTA Key card before you leave. Masks are still required on all SEPTA vehicles. This isn't just to keep you safe, it's to keep everyone who rides SEPTA safe! Ensure your mask is covering both your mouth and your nose. And remember - vehicle capacity limits on SEPTA vehicles are now lifted.
