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L (SEPTA Metro)
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L (SEPTA Metro)
The L, formerly known as the Market–Frankford Line, is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The L runs from the 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby, just outside of West Philadelphia, through Center City Philadelphia to the Frankford Transit Center in Near Northeast Philadelphia. Starting in 2024, the line was rebranded as the "L" as part of the implementation of SEPTA Metro, wherein line names are simplified to a single letter.
The L is the busiest route in the SEPTA system; it had more than 170,000 boardings on an average weekday in 2019. The line has elevated, on-grade, and underground portions.
The L begins at 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby. The L then heads east at ground level and passes north of the borough of Millbourne. From there, it enters West Philadelphia and is elevated over Market Street until 46th Street, where it curves north and east and then descends underground via a portal at 44th Street. At 42nd Street, the tunnel returns to the alignment of Market Street.
At 32nd Street, the tunnel carrying the T routes join the L tunnel. The L tracks are in the center and the trolley tracks are on the outside. Drexel consists of an island platform between the two innermost tracks for L trains, and outboard "wall" platforms for T trolleys. After passing beneath the Schuylkill River, L trains run express to 15th Street/City Hall, skipping the intermediate trolley stations at 22nd Street and 19th Street. 15th Street/City Hall is the central interchange station for the L, T, and B. The T tracks end in a loop beneath Juniper Street at Market just after crossing above the B.
Though it now tunnels in a straight line directly beneath Philadelphia City Hall, prior to 1936, the original MFL trackage between 15th and 13th Street stations separated and looped around the foundation of City Hall (eastbound trains passed around the south side and westbound trains passed around the north side). Parts of that original alignment are now used by T cars as they pass south of City Hall en route to 13th Street station (as well as the bridgework in the ceiling of the southbound platform of the City Hall stop on the Broad Street line). The Market Street tunnel continues east to Front Street and then turns north, where it rises in the median of I-95. The rail line and freeway share an elevated embankment for about 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km), including Spring Garden station, which replaced Fairmount station on the Frankford Elevated in 1977. The line then heads under the southbound lanes and over Front Street for about a mile on an elevated structure. The elevated structure then turns northeast onto Kensington Avenue, which after about 2 miles (3.2 km), merges with Frankford Avenue (which the line follows to its end). Just north of Pratt Street, a curve to the north brings the line to its terminus at the Frankford Transit Center, which replaced the original Bridge & Pratt Street terminal.
The original subway tunnel from Philadelphia City Hall to the portal at 23rd Street, as well as the bridge to carry the line across the Schuylkill River, just north of Market Street, were built from April 1903 to August 1905. Construction on the Market Street Elevated west from this point began In April 1904, and the line opened on March 4, 1907, from 69th Street Terminal to a loop around Philadelphia City Hall at 15th Street. The line was elevated west of the river and underground east of the river. The tunnel was also used by streetcar lines, now SEPTA's T lines, that entered the line just east of the river and turned around at the City Hall loop. Philadelphia was unusual in that the construction of its initial downtown subway was undertaken using Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. (PRT) private capital with no contribution from public funds.
Extensions took the subway east to 2nd Street on August 3, 1908, and via a portal at 2nd street and several elevated curves it reached the Delaware River between Market Street and Chestnut Street on September 7, 1908. The Delaware Avenue Elevated (also called the Ferry Line, because of the multiple ferries across the river) opened on October 4, 1908, as a further extension south along the river to South Street. The only two stations on this extension were Market–Chestnut and South Street.
The total cost, including road and equipment expenditures, of the Market Street subway and elevated was $23,072,114 (equivalent to about $807,438,500 in 2024).
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L (SEPTA Metro)
The L, formerly known as the Market–Frankford Line, is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The L runs from the 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby, just outside of West Philadelphia, through Center City Philadelphia to the Frankford Transit Center in Near Northeast Philadelphia. Starting in 2024, the line was rebranded as the "L" as part of the implementation of SEPTA Metro, wherein line names are simplified to a single letter.
The L is the busiest route in the SEPTA system; it had more than 170,000 boardings on an average weekday in 2019. The line has elevated, on-grade, and underground portions.
The L begins at 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby. The L then heads east at ground level and passes north of the borough of Millbourne. From there, it enters West Philadelphia and is elevated over Market Street until 46th Street, where it curves north and east and then descends underground via a portal at 44th Street. At 42nd Street, the tunnel returns to the alignment of Market Street.
At 32nd Street, the tunnel carrying the T routes join the L tunnel. The L tracks are in the center and the trolley tracks are on the outside. Drexel consists of an island platform between the two innermost tracks for L trains, and outboard "wall" platforms for T trolleys. After passing beneath the Schuylkill River, L trains run express to 15th Street/City Hall, skipping the intermediate trolley stations at 22nd Street and 19th Street. 15th Street/City Hall is the central interchange station for the L, T, and B. The T tracks end in a loop beneath Juniper Street at Market just after crossing above the B.
Though it now tunnels in a straight line directly beneath Philadelphia City Hall, prior to 1936, the original MFL trackage between 15th and 13th Street stations separated and looped around the foundation of City Hall (eastbound trains passed around the south side and westbound trains passed around the north side). Parts of that original alignment are now used by T cars as they pass south of City Hall en route to 13th Street station (as well as the bridgework in the ceiling of the southbound platform of the City Hall stop on the Broad Street line). The Market Street tunnel continues east to Front Street and then turns north, where it rises in the median of I-95. The rail line and freeway share an elevated embankment for about 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km), including Spring Garden station, which replaced Fairmount station on the Frankford Elevated in 1977. The line then heads under the southbound lanes and over Front Street for about a mile on an elevated structure. The elevated structure then turns northeast onto Kensington Avenue, which after about 2 miles (3.2 km), merges with Frankford Avenue (which the line follows to its end). Just north of Pratt Street, a curve to the north brings the line to its terminus at the Frankford Transit Center, which replaced the original Bridge & Pratt Street terminal.
The original subway tunnel from Philadelphia City Hall to the portal at 23rd Street, as well as the bridge to carry the line across the Schuylkill River, just north of Market Street, were built from April 1903 to August 1905. Construction on the Market Street Elevated west from this point began In April 1904, and the line opened on March 4, 1907, from 69th Street Terminal to a loop around Philadelphia City Hall at 15th Street. The line was elevated west of the river and underground east of the river. The tunnel was also used by streetcar lines, now SEPTA's T lines, that entered the line just east of the river and turned around at the City Hall loop. Philadelphia was unusual in that the construction of its initial downtown subway was undertaken using Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. (PRT) private capital with no contribution from public funds.
Extensions took the subway east to 2nd Street on August 3, 1908, and via a portal at 2nd street and several elevated curves it reached the Delaware River between Market Street and Chestnut Street on September 7, 1908. The Delaware Avenue Elevated (also called the Ferry Line, because of the multiple ferries across the river) opened on October 4, 1908, as a further extension south along the river to South Street. The only two stations on this extension were Market–Chestnut and South Street.
The total cost, including road and equipment expenditures, of the Market Street subway and elevated was $23,072,114 (equivalent to about $807,438,500 in 2024).
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