North Philadelphia (SEPTA Regional Rail station)

North Philadelphia Amtrak station SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail station
North Philadelphia station looking northeast
Station statistics
Address	2900 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA
Lines	Amtrak:   Keystone Service   Northeast Regional SEPTA:   Trenton Line   Chestnut Hill West Line
Connections	Broad Street Line Local   Broad Street Line Ridge Spur SEPTA City Bus: 54, C
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform (Amtrak and Trenton Line) 2 side platforms (Chestnut Hill West Line)
Tracks	4 (Amtrak and Trenton Line) 2 (Chestnut Hill West Line)
Parking	333 spaces
Other information
Opened	1896[1]
Rebuilt	1999
Accessible
Code	PHN
Owned by	Amtrak
Fare zone	C (SEPTA)
Traffic
Passengers (2009)	164 (daily)  11% (SEPTA)
Passengers (2010)	345[2] (annually)  36% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Philadelphia toward Harrisburg Keystone Service Cornwells Heights toward New York City Philadelphia toward Newport News or Lynchburg Northeast Regional Cornwells Heights toward Boston South Station or Springfield SEPTA Queen Lane toward Chestnut Hill West Chestnut Hill West Line 30th Street Station toward Temple University Bridesburg toward Trenton Trenton Line 30th Street Station toward Temple University
Germantown Junction Station U.S. National Register of Historic Places Location: 2900 North Broad Street North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Coordinates: 39°59′51″N 75°9′16″W / 39.9975°N 75.15444°W / 39.9975; -75.15444Coordinates: 39°59′51″N 75°9′16″W / 39.9975°N 75.15444°W / 39.9975; -75.15444 Built: 1896 Architect: Theophilus Parsons Chandler, Jr.; Roydhouse Arey & Co. Architectural style: Renaissance, Other Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 92000940[3] Added to NRHP: July 8, 1999

North Philadelphia, formerly Germantown Junction Station,^[3] is a railroad station on the Northeast Corridor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is an above-ground station at 2900 North Broad Street in the city's North Philadelphia section. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) Regional Rail accounts for most of the station's service, and five Amtrak trains stop each weekday.

Layout and service

The station is 4.4 miles from upper level 30th St Station via the outbound track, or 4.5 miles via the inbound. It is immediately northeast of where SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Line diverges from the Northeast Corridor, which carries SEPTA's Trenton Line. Platforms for the two lines are a short distance apart.

Two high-level island platforms serve three of the four Northeast Corridor tracks. The Trenton Line trains make regular stops at these platforms. The station and tracks are owned by Amtrak, and five of their trains stop at this station each weekday.^[4][5] On the SEPTA-owned Chestnut Hill West line, two low-level platforms serve Chestnut Hill West trains, which normally treat North Philadelphia as a flag stop.^[6]

The station is within a few blocks of the North Broad station on SEPTA's Main Line (formerly belonging to the Reading Company), and the North Philadelphia subway station on SEPTA's Broad Street Line. The station has SEPTA ticket offices, retail shops, restaurants, and access to Broad Street businesses. As of 2006, the SEPTA Trenton and Chestnut Hill West had an average of 219 weekday boardings and 245 weekday disembarks.^[7] These numbers are a key reason why North Philadelphia is among Amtrak's least busy stations.^[8]

History and architecture

According to the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings project, the main structure of the station was built from 1896 to 1901 for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and was designed by Theophilus Parsons Chandler, Jr. It was Philadelphia's sole stop for the Broadway Limited train,^[9] as well as the General Motors Aerotrain. The station includes a 333-space parking lot, and is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Building Survey.

References

1. ^ Existing Railroad Stations in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
2. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/PENNSYLVANIA10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-1-6. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
4. ^ Amtrak Keystone Service Timetables
5. ^ Amtrak Northeast Corridor Timetables
6. ^ SEPTA Chestnut Hill West schedule
7. ^ SEPTA (May 2006). Annual Service Plan 2007. p. 83PDF (539 KiB)
8. ^ Amtrak Fact Sheet; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PDF)
9. ^ April 1963 Broadway Limited Schedule (PRR Documents @ Railfan.net)

External links

Media related to North Philadelphia (Amtrak-SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Amtrak – Stations – North Philadelphia, PA
• Trenton and Chestnut Hill West station pages on SEPTA's official website
• Daniel Campo, "Train Wreck," City Paper, 24 January 2007
• North Philadelphia Amtrak-SEPTA Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
• Station from Google Maps Street View

Aerial view of the station from 1977.