Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), one of the largest transit systems in the United States, will add 123 trains to the schedule next month.
New timetables for all lines will be go into effect on Sept. 8.
Twenty-four trains were added on weekdays and 99 on weekends. This restores service to 80 percent of pre-COVID levels on weekdays and 84 percent on weekends.
“As we continue to rebuild ridership, SEPTA is still facing a $240 million annual budget deficit, and the need for a permanent solution grows more urgent by the day,” Leslie S. Richards, SEPTA CEO and general manager, said. “Despite this funding crisis, we can not put critical investments in our system on hold. We must move forward with efforts to make our service more reliable for our riders who depend on us to get where they need to go.”
SEPTA’s Reimagining Regional Rail initiative will add service to accommodate off-peak, evening, and weekend trips.
Other upcoming service changes include restoring hourly weekend service on most lines, restoring 30-minute weekend service to the Philadelphia International Airport, and adding late-night, mid-day and reverse peak service on most lines.
SEPTA supports five counties in the Greater Philadelphia area and connects to transit systems in Delaware and New Jersey. Ridership is approximately 67 percent of pre-pandemic levels.