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Keystone Service
The Keystone Service is a 195 mile (314 km) regional passenger train service from Amtrak, that operates between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line (known as the Keystone Corridor). Most trains then continue along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to Penn Station in New York City.
Trips between Harrisburg and New York take approximately 3+1⁄2 hours, including 1+3⁄4 hours between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. There are also several express services that can cut the journey times of both by approximately 15 minutes.
The line is considered higher-speed rail with trains operating at up to 125 miles per hour (200 km/h) over parts of the Northeast Corridor and up to 110 mph (180 km/h) over parts of the Keystone Corridor.
As of 2024[update] it is Amtrak's fifth-busiest route nationally, and the third-busiest among services in the greater Northeast Corridor, carrying 1.27 million passengers, an increase of 13.7% over FY2023. Total revenue in FY2016 was $41,123,787, an increase of 7.5% over FY2015. The route is primarily funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
The Keystone Service is the successor to numerous services running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line dating back to 1857, when the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) bought the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, enabling service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.[citation needed]
By the time the PRR merged with Penn Central in 1968, it operated three types of service on the Main Line: commuter service between the suburb of Paoli and Suburban Station via 30th Street Station, regional service (trains numbered in the 600s) between Harrisburg and Suburban Station via 30th Street Station, and express intercity service like the Broadway Limited and Duquesne, which skipped 30th Street Station entirely and used North Philadelphia station as their only Philadelphia stop.
When the Metroliner high-speed program had begun two years earlier, the state had attempted to capitalize on the opportunity to purchase upgraded rolling stock for the 600-series trains. On August 30, 1966, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania announced plans to purchase 11 Metroliners capable of 80 mph (130 km/h) service to replace the Silverliners then used. The cars were ordered through Philadelphia commuter agency SEPTA, as the state was not permitted to contract directly with the PRR. The state, SEPTA, and PRR reached an agreement on November 3; the state and SEPTA would each pay $2 million, funded mostly by mass transit grants from the newly formed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the PRR would receive a free 15-year lease of the cars. The PRR soon withdrew after complaints from competing Red Arrow Lines and Capitol Trailways, and the HUD grants were later found to be inapplicable to intercity service.
In June 1968, an agreement was reached where the state Transportation Assistance Authority would pay $2 million and Penn Central would pay $2.5 million for the 11 Metroliners for Harrisburg service. On July 14, a 4-car train was tested on the line, with several demonstration runs for officials on August 21. On February 25, 1970, the cars intended for Harrisburg service completed their performance testing. Penn Central refused to accept the cars, citing numerous technical issues with the cars and their general unsuitability for the service. They had slower acceleration than the Silverliners already in service, tended to overheat when making numerous closely spaced stops, and had difficulty climbing the grade out of Suburban Station. Additionally, the corridor lacked high-level platforms to effectively use the cars, and 15 substations would require expensive modifications. The 11 cars were unused for some time before Penn Central ultimately decided to lease the cars for use on the core New York–Washington service. They were moved back to the Budd plant for modifications in April. In July 1970, the state authorized $100,000 to upgrade existing Silverliners for the Harrisburg service instead.
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Keystone Service
The Keystone Service is a 195 mile (314 km) regional passenger train service from Amtrak, that operates between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line (known as the Keystone Corridor). Most trains then continue along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to Penn Station in New York City.
Trips between Harrisburg and New York take approximately 3+1⁄2 hours, including 1+3⁄4 hours between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. There are also several express services that can cut the journey times of both by approximately 15 minutes.
The line is considered higher-speed rail with trains operating at up to 125 miles per hour (200 km/h) over parts of the Northeast Corridor and up to 110 mph (180 km/h) over parts of the Keystone Corridor.
As of 2024[update] it is Amtrak's fifth-busiest route nationally, and the third-busiest among services in the greater Northeast Corridor, carrying 1.27 million passengers, an increase of 13.7% over FY2023. Total revenue in FY2016 was $41,123,787, an increase of 7.5% over FY2015. The route is primarily funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
The Keystone Service is the successor to numerous services running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line dating back to 1857, when the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) bought the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, enabling service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.[citation needed]
By the time the PRR merged with Penn Central in 1968, it operated three types of service on the Main Line: commuter service between the suburb of Paoli and Suburban Station via 30th Street Station, regional service (trains numbered in the 600s) between Harrisburg and Suburban Station via 30th Street Station, and express intercity service like the Broadway Limited and Duquesne, which skipped 30th Street Station entirely and used North Philadelphia station as their only Philadelphia stop.
When the Metroliner high-speed program had begun two years earlier, the state had attempted to capitalize on the opportunity to purchase upgraded rolling stock for the 600-series trains. On August 30, 1966, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania announced plans to purchase 11 Metroliners capable of 80 mph (130 km/h) service to replace the Silverliners then used. The cars were ordered through Philadelphia commuter agency SEPTA, as the state was not permitted to contract directly with the PRR. The state, SEPTA, and PRR reached an agreement on November 3; the state and SEPTA would each pay $2 million, funded mostly by mass transit grants from the newly formed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the PRR would receive a free 15-year lease of the cars. The PRR soon withdrew after complaints from competing Red Arrow Lines and Capitol Trailways, and the HUD grants were later found to be inapplicable to intercity service.
In June 1968, an agreement was reached where the state Transportation Assistance Authority would pay $2 million and Penn Central would pay $2.5 million for the 11 Metroliners for Harrisburg service. On July 14, a 4-car train was tested on the line, with several demonstration runs for officials on August 21. On February 25, 1970, the cars intended for Harrisburg service completed their performance testing. Penn Central refused to accept the cars, citing numerous technical issues with the cars and their general unsuitability for the service. They had slower acceleration than the Silverliners already in service, tended to overheat when making numerous closely spaced stops, and had difficulty climbing the grade out of Suburban Station. Additionally, the corridor lacked high-level platforms to effectively use the cars, and 15 substations would require expensive modifications. The 11 cars were unused for some time before Penn Central ultimately decided to lease the cars for use on the core New York–Washington service. They were moved back to the Budd plant for modifications in April. In July 1970, the state authorized $100,000 to upgrade existing Silverliners for the Harrisburg service instead.