Until 1984 Chestnut Hill East trains used the Reading Viaduct to reach Spring Garden Street and the Reading Terminal; this ended with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection which routed the trains through the city center and on the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad part of the system.[3] From this point the route was designated R7 Chestnut Hill East as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines; trains continued on to the Trenton Line.[4] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.[5] As of 2022[update], most Chestnut Hill East Line trains continue through Center City to the Trenton Line.[6]
On April 9, 2020, service on the line was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[8] though Temple University and Wayne Junction stations were still being served by other rail services. Service resumed on June 28, 2020.[9]
Stations
The Chestnut Hill East line makes the following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with a gray background are closed. All stations are located within the city of Philadelphia.[6]
Yearly ridership on the Chestnut Hill East Line between FY 2013–FY 2018 was steady around 1.4–1.6 million. Ridership declined in FY 2019 and then collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.[note 1]
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
FY 2019
FY 2020
FY 2021
FY 2022
FY 2023
Notes
^Data for individual lines is not available for FY 2020.[1]
^Coates, Wes (1990). Electric trains to Reading Terminal. Flanders, NJ: Railroad Avenue Enterprises. pp. 74–75. OCLC24431024.
^Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. p. 49. ISBN978-0-9621541-7-1.
^Vuchic, Vukan; Kikuchi, Shinya (1984). General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System. Philadelphia: SEPTA. pp. 2–8.
^Bowden, Mark (December 23, 1988). "A SEPTA Ride to a Sealed Station". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15. Retrieved October 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.