Section IV: SEPTA RD Train Sceduled Folders

Question 1

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Answer 1

The SEPTA Regional Rail Division service area encompasses approximately 2,200 square miles, with 13
distinct rail lines, over 150 active passenger stations, serving the Philadelphia five county area, with
service to New Jersey and Delaware. In addition to containing the scheduled departure times for trains at
passenger stations, the public schedule folders (illustrated above) also show the assigned passenger train
numbers associated with each train.
Each scheduled passenger train is assigned a train number, as listed in the public schedule folders. The
digits that comprise the train numbers contain information relevant to the branch a train operates on, its
direction of travel, and its destination. Train numbers can be comprised of three or four digits. In addition,
most of the SEPTA RD lines have assigned route pairings that the trains travel on from one end of the
system to the other end (i.e., north to south, south to north), via the main Center City Stations:
Jefferson Station, Suburban Station and 30th Street Station. Regularly scheduled SEPTA RD
passenger trains operate via the three main Center City Stations to get from one end of a line pairing to
the other, unless it is scheduled to terminate at one of the Center City rail stations.
Each SEPTA RD line has an identifying number assigned to it, as described below. Each line has a
normal line pairing. For example, northbound trains operating from the Wilmington Line will typically
operate via Center City Philadelphia stations towards the Norristown Line as part of their normal route
pairing; conversely, southbound trains operating from the Norristown Line will typically operate via the
Center City Philadelphia stations towards the Wilmington Line.