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PATCO Speedline
The PATCO Speedline, signed as the Lindenwold Line in Philadelphia and commonly referred to as the PATCO High Speed Line, is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Lindenwold in Camden County, New Jersey.
The line runs underground in Philadelphia, crosses the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, continues underground through Downtown Camden, and then operates predominantly at grade or on elevated track between Camden and Lindenwold. Both PATCO and the Speedline are owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. Service began on January 4, 1969, between Lindenwold and Camden, with full service to Philadelphia commencing on February 15, 1969. The Speedline integrates the historic Bridge Line, originally opened in 1936 between Philadelphia and Broadway Station in Camden, with newly constructed infrastructure along a former commuter rail corridor between Camden and Lindenwold.
While the PATCO Speedline is one of the few U.S. mass transit systems to operate 24 hours a day, it will be temporarily suspending weekday overnight service on September 1st, 2025. In 2024, the line recorded 5,640,600 total rides, or about 19,400 per weekday in the second quarter of 2025.
The present-day PATCO Speedline follows the path of several 19th-century railroads that once terminated at a station in Camden on the bank of the Delaware River, where passengers would transfer to a ferry to reach Philadelphia. In 1919, the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey formed the Delaware River Bridge Commission to build a fixed crossing between the two cities.
The result was the Delaware River Bridge—later renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge—which opened on July 1, 1926. The bridge was designed with two outboard structures beside the main roadway to carry rapid transit tracks, along with six vehicle lanes and two streetcar tracks on the main deck, although no streetcars ever ran across the bridge and the space was eventually converted to additional vehicle lanes.
To make use of the bridge's rail capacity, the South Jersey Transit Commission, established in 1929, proposed a rapid transit line that would run along the outboard structures. Instead of transferring to a ferry, passengers arriving in Camden could transfer at Broadway station to this new rail line and ride directly to 8th–Market station in Philadelphia, where they could continue on the Market–Frankford Line or the Broad–Ridge Line. The platform at 8th–Market would be shared with the Broad–Ridge Line and had actually been constructed in 1917 as part of an unrealized Center City subway loop. The commission also recommended consolidating regional rail operations, which led to the formation of the Pennsylvania–Reading Seashore Lines, serving Broadway station. However, the Pennsylvania Railroad did not discontinue its ferry service until March 31, 1952.
In 1931, the Delaware River Bridge Commission was reorganized as the Delaware River Joint Commission (DRJC), which was given the authority to build a high-speed transit line. Construction on the new line began in 1932, and the Bridge Line officially opened on June 7, 1936, with four stations: 8th–Market and Franklin Square in Philadelphia, and City Hall and Broadway in Camden. The DRJC owned the line and contracted with the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company to operate it. Following the operator's bankruptcy, the reorganized Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) assumed control in 1940. In June 1949, to lower operating costs, PTC began through-routing Bridge Line trains with the Broad–Ridge Line, reversing direction at 8th–Market and offering one-seat service between Camden and Broad–Girard station in North Philadelphia.
As part of the earlier subway loop plans, the City of Philadelphia had begun tunneling from 8th Street to Locust Street, then west along Locust to 16th Street. Construction began in 1917 but was halted by World War I, resumed briefly in 1931, and was again suspended due to the Great Depression. Work finally resumed in 1950, and on February 14, 1953, the Bridge Line was extended to 15–16th & Locust station, with intermediate stops at 12–13th & Locust and 9–10th & Locust. The Broad–Ridge Line would also use the same tracks. This extension, still owned by the City of Philadelphia, marked the last major addition to the Bridge Line before its transformation.
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PATCO Speedline
The PATCO Speedline, signed as the Lindenwold Line in Philadelphia and commonly referred to as the PATCO High Speed Line, is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Lindenwold in Camden County, New Jersey.
The line runs underground in Philadelphia, crosses the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, continues underground through Downtown Camden, and then operates predominantly at grade or on elevated track between Camden and Lindenwold. Both PATCO and the Speedline are owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. Service began on January 4, 1969, between Lindenwold and Camden, with full service to Philadelphia commencing on February 15, 1969. The Speedline integrates the historic Bridge Line, originally opened in 1936 between Philadelphia and Broadway Station in Camden, with newly constructed infrastructure along a former commuter rail corridor between Camden and Lindenwold.
While the PATCO Speedline is one of the few U.S. mass transit systems to operate 24 hours a day, it will be temporarily suspending weekday overnight service on September 1st, 2025. In 2024, the line recorded 5,640,600 total rides, or about 19,400 per weekday in the second quarter of 2025.
The present-day PATCO Speedline follows the path of several 19th-century railroads that once terminated at a station in Camden on the bank of the Delaware River, where passengers would transfer to a ferry to reach Philadelphia. In 1919, the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey formed the Delaware River Bridge Commission to build a fixed crossing between the two cities.
The result was the Delaware River Bridge—later renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge—which opened on July 1, 1926. The bridge was designed with two outboard structures beside the main roadway to carry rapid transit tracks, along with six vehicle lanes and two streetcar tracks on the main deck, although no streetcars ever ran across the bridge and the space was eventually converted to additional vehicle lanes.
To make use of the bridge's rail capacity, the South Jersey Transit Commission, established in 1929, proposed a rapid transit line that would run along the outboard structures. Instead of transferring to a ferry, passengers arriving in Camden could transfer at Broadway station to this new rail line and ride directly to 8th–Market station in Philadelphia, where they could continue on the Market–Frankford Line or the Broad–Ridge Line. The platform at 8th–Market would be shared with the Broad–Ridge Line and had actually been constructed in 1917 as part of an unrealized Center City subway loop. The commission also recommended consolidating regional rail operations, which led to the formation of the Pennsylvania–Reading Seashore Lines, serving Broadway station. However, the Pennsylvania Railroad did not discontinue its ferry service until March 31, 1952.
In 1931, the Delaware River Bridge Commission was reorganized as the Delaware River Joint Commission (DRJC), which was given the authority to build a high-speed transit line. Construction on the new line began in 1932, and the Bridge Line officially opened on June 7, 1936, with four stations: 8th–Market and Franklin Square in Philadelphia, and City Hall and Broadway in Camden. The DRJC owned the line and contracted with the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company to operate it. Following the operator's bankruptcy, the reorganized Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) assumed control in 1940. In June 1949, to lower operating costs, PTC began through-routing Bridge Line trains with the Broad–Ridge Line, reversing direction at 8th–Market and offering one-seat service between Camden and Broad–Girard station in North Philadelphia.
As part of the earlier subway loop plans, the City of Philadelphia had begun tunneling from 8th Street to Locust Street, then west along Locust to 16th Street. Construction began in 1917 but was halted by World War I, resumed briefly in 1931, and was again suspended due to the Great Depression. Work finally resumed in 1950, and on February 14, 1953, the Bridge Line was extended to 15–16th & Locust station, with intermediate stops at 12–13th & Locust and 9–10th & Locust. The Broad–Ridge Line would also use the same tracks. This extension, still owned by the City of Philadelphia, marked the last major addition to the Bridge Line before its transformation.