SEPTA's FY10 Service Plan

[eldondre]

I suppose upgrading the power supply could make a lot of sense if the line is extended to Allentown where you'd probably want limited stop loco hauled trains (Keystones to Allentown?). I don't think bilevels are of huge importance though since an upgraded power supply also means longer trains, bilevels would jsut be a side benefit should they ever become necessary.

[solibs]

]Route 12 – Route extension to Columbus Commons. It is proposed to extend the eastern terminus from 3rd and Pine Streets to South Philadelphia in order to provide Center City employees and shoppers access to retail and entertainment along Delaware Avenue.

I feel like a much better western route/terminus for the 12 bus would be for it to follow Grays Ferry Ave. to 28th St. where it would go south on 28th St. before terminating at Snyder (and return on 29th).

A one seat ride from GF to most destinations in Center City could do wonders for that neighborhood.

Terminating the 12 at 49th & Woodland doesn't do a lot of good for many people. If you're on the trolley you can already transfer to the 64, 40 or 42 to get to the same places.

[eldondre]

here are the service details from the proposed operating budget

1. Route 14 Oxford Valley and Neshaminy Malls to Frankford Transportation Center -- Continue with exclusive use of articulated buses and slightly increase headways during weekdays.
2. Route 28 Tacony to Fern Rock Transportation Center -- Increase headway from 60 to 75 minutes on Sundays.
3. Route 31 -- Retain headway of 20 minutes for AM service, and increase headways for PM service from Overbrook Park to Center City 15 to 20 minutes on weekdays.
4. Route 58 Somerton and Neshaminy Mall to Frankford Transportation Center-- Increase headway from 15 to 20 minutes between 10:00AM and 5:00PM on Sundays.
5. Route 70 Torresdale and Tacony to Fern Rock Transportation Center -- Increase headway from 3 to 4 minutes between 7 & 8 AM weekdays.
-- Increase headway duing weekday and Sunday evening from 20 to 30 minutes until 11:00 PM.
6. Route 93 Norristown Transportation Center to Pottstown-- Discontinue additional weekday service between Norristown TC and Collegeville.
7. Route 99 Norristown Transportation Center to Phoenixville-- Discontinue last trip from Phoenixville on Sundays.
8. Route 104 69th Street Terminal to West Chester University -- Increase headway from 20 to 30 minutes to West Chester during weekday peak hours.
9. Route 111 69th Street Terminal to Penn State and Chadds Ford
PDF Text Map -- Increase headway from one hour to two hours between Granite Run Mall and Chadds Ford on Saturdays.
-- Increase headway from one hour to two hours between Granite Run Mall and Chadds Ford on Sundays.
10. Route 120 69th Street Terminal to Cheyney University-- Discontinue two round trips on Sundays.
11. Route 124 Center City to King of Prussia and Chesterbrook-- Combine underutilized trips from Wissahickon TC with trips from Center City during weekdays.
-- Discontinue 3 mid-day trips from King of Prussia to Wissahickon TC on Sundays.
12. Route 125 Center City to King of Prussia and Valley Forge-- Combine underutilized trips destined to Wissahickon TC with trips to Center City during weekdays.
-- Discontinue last trip from King of Prussia to Wissahickon TC on Saturdays.
-- Discontinue 2 mid-day trips from King of Prussia to Wissahickon TC on Sundays.
13. Route 129 Oxford Valley Mall to Morrell Park -- Modify Sunday service to operate every 90 minutes instead of every 60 minutes.
14. Route 201 Fort Washington Station to Fort Washington Office Center -- Revert back to connecting with only reverse-peak direction trains to/from Philadelphia on weekdays.
15. Route J Bridesburg to Germantown -- Increase headway from 15 to 17 minutes in the PM weekdays.
16. Route K East Falls to Arrott Terminal -- Increase headway from 20 to 30 minutes between 7 PM & 10 PM on Saturdays.
17. Route R Wissahickon Transportation Center to Frankford Transportation Center -- Increase headway from 15 to 20 minutes in the base period and from 20 to 30 minutes between
7 PM & 10 PM on Sundays.
18. NHSL 69th Street Terminal to Norristown Transportation Center -- Increase headway from 20 to 30 minutes on the Norristown High Speed Line on Sunday.
19. Trenton (R7) -- Discontinue late trains between Center City and Trenton (after midnight on Fridays Only).

http://www.septa.org/reports/pdf/opb...1-proposed.pdf

a lot of these seem fairly straightforward. I think the 124-125 makes some sense, personally I'd rather see the 125 go with it's strike routing to Villanova.
Question: what train are they eliminating from the R7? PErsonally, I'd rather see them strike a deal with Amtrak to put SEPTA riders on Keystone trains than run unnecessary late night weekend trips. MARC has a deal like that for weekend service. Of course, it would probably have to be marked up otherwise, who wouldn't want a $83 SEPTA monthly that gets free Friday and Sat night Amtrak trips from NYP?

[eldondre]

The Automatic Block Signal
System currently in use on the Warminster, Lansdale/Doylestown - Lansdale to Doylestown segment, Cynwyd, Norristown, Chestnut
Hill East and Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail Lines will be replaced with an Automatic Train Control (ATC) System. The ATC System,
which operates on a microprocessor based platform, will ensure effective train separation, as well as provide train overspeed
protection with automatic braking. The new signal system will also enable bi-directional train movements with full signaling, thus
greatly enhancing the flexibility of service when a portion of track is out of service for maintenance or repair.
In addition, a Positive Train Control (PTC) System will be superimposed atop the ATC on all SEPTA-owned Regional Rail lines.
...PTC will enhance the ATC System by providing the ability to enforce a stop, enforce civil speed restrictions and enforce temporary speed restrictions through a network of transponders, while maintaining the continuous track monitoring advantages of the ATC. The installation of this system will ensure complete interoperability with Amtrak and the various freight carriers that operate over the Northeast Corridor.
As part of this project, track interlockings and switches will be improved or replaced to complement the capabilities of the new combined signal system. These improvements, in conjunction with completed and planned communications system upgrades, will
significantly improve service quality, provide a more reliable and maintainable operation, and expand opportunities to increase overall travel speed and reduce travel time.
Implementation of new signal systems are underway on the Warminster and Lansdale-Doylestown Lines with completion
scheduled for the 3rd quarter of Calendar Year 2010 and the 2nd quarter of Calendar Year 2011, respectively. ...Route 15 Turnback – This project provides for the construction of a trolley turnback for SEPTA’s Trolley Route
15 at Frankford Avenue. This new routing will allow eastbound trolley service to continue through to the Market-
Frankford Line during PennDOT’s reconstruction of the Interstate I-95 Girard Avenue Interchange. This turnback
will become a permanent feature of the trolley line. The turnback will be constructed along Frankford Avenue
from Girard Avenue to Delaware Avenue. The project will provide for new track and overhead wire; and traffic
signal improvements at Girard and Delaware Avenues. The construction phase of the project will commence in
Fiscal Year 2011...

http://www.septa.org/reports/pdf/cap...1-proposed.pdf

[cewillm]

here are the service details from the proposed operating budget

http://www.septa.org/reports/pdf/opb...1-proposed.pdf

a lot of these seem fairly straightforward. I think the 124-125 makes some sense, personally I'd rather see the 125 go with it's strike routing to Villanova.
Question: what train are they eliminating from the R7? PErsonally, I'd rather see them strike a deal with Amtrak to put SEPTA riders on Keystone trains than run unnecessary late night weekend trips. MARC has a deal like that for weekend service. Of course, it would probably have to be marked up otherwise, who wouldn't want a $83 SEPTA monthly that gets free Friday and Sat night Amtrak trips from NYP?

I'd love free weekend service via NJT to NYP.

[eldondre]

SEPTA’s operations committee reviewed an agreement at its monthly meeting on Thursday to purchase land from the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development near 50th Street and Parkside Avenue for $130,000.

The new loop, which serves as a terminus for Routes 43 and 64 and provides transfers to Routes 40 and 52, will sit on over an acre of land and include improved passenger amenities and bathrooms for bus operators.

conveniently located across the street from parkside recovery
SEPTA news on Parkside Loop | Plan Philly: Engaging in Urban Dialogue

the operations committee reviewed a $239,000 agreement with the Philadelphia Transportation Management Association to extend Philadelphia Phlash service to the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum from May 1 through Oct. 31. This will mark the second year SEPTA has subsidized the service, which lets tourists take a bus from Center City to the West Philadelphia attractions. The agreement also gives SEPTA pass holders free rides on Phlash buses. More than 9,900 pass holders took the service last year.

[mixiboi]

Nice to see SEPTA and PHLASH working together again, it helps make it easier for Tourist to use the EL and the PHLASH Bus to get around quicker and see more of what we have in this City.

Glad to see the Please Touch Museum help add the Philadelphia Zoo back to the PHLASH routing.

Now all we need is a dedicated rail route, and it'd be better...

[eldondre]

why do we need a dedicated rail route? Seems like there are more important issues than the phlash routing

[eldondre]

station renovation

[eldondre]

this years service plan is a nice little view on what's wrong with SEPTA. Rather than improve existing service, SEPTA is adding a poor performing route part time at the urging of a city council member

Despite budget constraints, SEPTA’s staff is moving ahead with plans to introduce a new bus route that will serve Cheltenham and Olney. The new Route 72 line would operate between Rising Sun Avenue and Cedarbrook Plaza along Cheltenham Avenue and was suggested by Councilwoman Marian Tasco’s office, which originally called for the route to begin at Frankford Transportation Center.

Because of funding constraints, SEPTA wants to run the service every 30 minutes on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all day on weekends. The route is projected to cost SEPTA about $408,000 annually. The authority would recover 24 percent of that cost through farebox revenue

yet, they did not want to lower teh operating ratio of two other buses around that operating ratio out of concern

The service planning division dropped a proposal to extend the Route 12,...down to the Columbus Commons Shopping Center in South Philadelphia. The Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities requested the extension to provide direct service from Society Hill to South Philadelphia and a one-seat ride for Route 12 passengers to waterfront shopping destinations. SEPTA’s planners didn’t recommend the extension because an analysis found the new route would negatively impact Route 12’s operating ratio ...The analysis also stated that the operating ratio of Route 25 would be negatively impacted because some riders might opt to take the new route instead. Route 25 is only 1 percent above SEPTA’s minimum acceptable operating ratio threshold of 22 percent.

so, why not look at truncating the 25 to offset losses elsewhere? if it's near the minimum ratio, maybe it's not serving enough needs. after all, target is available on castor ave no, negating the need to go to del ave.

extending a route one block for one employer, and not two blocks for the retail center and the mann

SEPTA is also proposing several other route changes that were detailed in previous public hearings. Among those changes, Route 43 and peak-hour Route 52 buses will now provide service to the West Parkside Industrial Park, which houses the Cintas Uniform Co.

SEPTA details new bus routes, including Route 72 | PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future