Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, or SEPTA for short, is an operator of bus, subway, regional rail, subway-surface, trackless trolley, and rail-trolley lines in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.

The system was formerly known as PTC (for the Philadelphia Transportation Company, the last private company to operate the system) and earlier as PRT (for the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company). The suburban bus and trolley lines were operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, using the name Red Arrow Lines.

Subway Service

The city's two subway lines are:

• The Market-Frankford Line (also known as the "El" or the "Blue Line", which runs from 69th Street Terminal in adjacent Upper Darby in the west to the neighborhood of Frankford in the Northeast. The Market-Frankford Line is sometimes called the "El" because a large portion of the line runs above street level.

• The Broad Street Line (also known as the "Orange Line"), which runs from Fern Rock Station in the extreme northern reaches of the city to Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. The Broad Street Line runs underground for its entire length, with the exception of a short span from Olney Station to the end of the line at Fern Rock. This line is popular with sports fans, as it provides direct service to the city's stadium complex. Connections to PATCO's High-Speed Line to the New Jersey suburbs are available at Walnut-Locust station (additional fare required to transfer).

• A spur of the Orange Line, known as the Broad-Ridge Spur, runs from Fern Rock station (north of City Hall) to a hub at 8th and Market Streets, where it links to the Blue Line. A second link to the PATCO's High-Speed Line is available here as well.

The two lines intersect at Philadelphia City Hall, where a free interchange exists.

Regional Rail Lines

SEPTA also operates a number of trains, known as the Regional Rail Lines to and from places in the metropolitan area. All seven of them pass through 30th Street Station, Suburban Station, and Market East Station in Center City as part of their route.

• The R1 line runs from Philadelphia International Airport to Glenside.

• The R2 line runs from Wilmington, Delaware to Warminster.

• The R3 line runs from Elwyn to western Trenton, New Jersey.

• The R5 line runs from Doylestown to Thorndale. This line is the namesake of Philadelphia's affluent "Main Line" area.

• The R6 line runs from Norristown to Bala Cynwyd.

• The R7 line runs from eastern Chestnut Hill to Trenton, New Jersey. This line offers an inexpensive connection to New York via New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line.

• The R8 line runs from Fox Chase to western Chestnut Hill.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority Official Website