Suburban Station

Suburban Station
The platform of Suburban Station in Philadelphia
General information
Location	1617 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	39°57′07″N 75°10′29″W
Owned by	SEPTA
Line(s)	SEPTA Main Line (Center City Commuter Connection)
Platforms	5 island platforms
Tracks	8
Connections	(at City Hall), (at 15th Street) SEPTA City Bus: 2, 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48, 62 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
Construction
Bicycle facilities	22 rack spaces[1]
Accessible	Yes[1]
Other information
Fare zone	CC[2]
History
Opened	September 28, 1930 (1930-09-28) (replaced Broad Street station)
Rebuilt	2007
Previous names	Penn Center Station
Passengers
2017	25,062 boardings, 25,062 alightings (weekday average)[3]
Rank	1 of 146
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station 30th Street Station toward Airport Airport Line Jefferson toward Temple University 30th Street Station toward Chestnut Hill West Chestnut Hill West Line 30th Street Station toward Wawa Media/Wawa Line 30th Street Station toward Thorndale Paoli/​Thorndale Line 30th Street Station toward Trenton Trenton Line 30th Street Station toward Newark Wilmington/​Newark Line 30th Street Station toward Cynwyd Cynwyd Line Terminus 30th Street Station Terminus Chestnut Hill East Line Jefferson toward Chestnut Hill East Fox Chase Line Jefferson toward Fox Chase Lansdale/​Doylestown Line Jefferson toward Doylestown 30th Street Station toward Penn Medicine Manayunk/​Norristown Line Jefferson toward Norristown–Elm Street Warminster Line Jefferson toward Warminster West Trenton Line Jefferson toward West Trenton
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Philadelphia–30th Street toward Washington, D.C. Chesapeake 1980–1981 Terminus Philadelphia–30th Street toward Harrisburg Keystone Service 1981–1988 Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Philadelphia toward Pottsville Schuylkill Branch Terminus Philadelphia toward Chestnut Hill Chestnut Hill Line Philadelphia toward White Marsh Fort Washington Branch Philadelphia toward Norristown–Haws Avenue Norristown Line Philadelphia toward Paoli Paoli Line Philadelphia toward Trenton Trenton Line Philadelphia toward West Chester West Chester Line Philadelphia toward Wilmington Wilmington Line
Suburban Station Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Architect	Graham, Anderson, Probst & White; Stewart, Joseph, & Co.
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	85001962[4]
Added to NRHP	September 5, 1985
Track layout JFK Blvd. and Cuthbert St. are omitted v t e CHEFOXDOY NORWARWTR 15th St. CYN ends 16th St. 17th St. 18th St. 19th St. 20th St. AIRCHWCYNWAW THOTRENWK

Suburban Station is an art deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center in Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard.^[5] The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the three core Center City stations on the SEPTA Regional Rail and one of the busiest stations in the Regional Rail System.^[6]

The station, which was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to replace the original Broad Street Station, opened on September 28, 1930.

History

20th century

The station opened as a stub-end terminal for Pennsylvania Railroad suburban commuter trains serving Center City Philadelphia, intended to replace the above-ground Broad Street Station in this function. PRR inter-city trains, on the other hand, would use 30th Street Station. The station's full name was originally Broad Street Suburban Station. It also includes a 21-story office tower, One Penn Center, which served as the headquarters of the PRR from 1930 to 1957.

When Amtrak took over the Silverliner Service from Penn Central in 1972, it was operated as a quasi-commuter service (Clockers and express trains to New York) that terminated at Suburban Station.^[7][8] The trains through Harrisburg were named Keystone Service in 1981.^[9][10] By the late 1980s, the Metroliners used for the service were in poor shape, but Amtrak had a shortage of AEM-7 locomotives due to wrecks.

On February 1, 1988, Amtrak converted all Keystone Service trains to diesel power and terminated them on the lower level of 30th Street Station, as diesel-powered trains were not allowed in the tunnels to Suburban Station.^[10] The change was listed as "temporary" on timetables starting on May 15, 1988, and lasting into 1990.^[11][12]

Suburban Station was originally a stub-end terminal station with eight tracks and four platforms. Plans for a tunnel to link the Pennsylvania and Reading commuter lines were floated as early as the 1950s, but funding to seriously study the project did not start until SEPTA's formation in the late 1960s. The project languished in the 1970s for want of funding until federal money was appropriated during Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo's time in office. SEPTA took over operation of all commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area in 1983; it previously contracted these operations to Conrail from 1976 to 1983 and to PRR and Reading from 1966 to 1976. A train crash occurred here on December 10, 1986, when an Airport Line train rammed a stopped Chestnut Hill West train injuring 42 people. The operator tested positive for drugs.^[13]

The link between the old PRR and Reading lines, the Center City Commuter Connection, opened in 1984. It extended four tracks eastward to the new Market East Station, now known as Jefferson Station, widened two of the existing platforms, added a fifth platform and realigned the tracks.

21st century

The renovated building above the station is the core of the Penn Center office complex, and is known as One Penn Center at Suburban Station. The office building attained an Energy Star Rating in 2009.^[14]

BLT Architects transformed Suburban Station in 2006. The station was redesigned to make navigation easier and adapt to current pedestrian traffic.^[15] Upgrades included increased retail space, a reactivated and improved HVAC system, and a restored/refurbished waiting area.

The station is now in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Comcast Center, situated on the north half of its block near Arch Street, adds a "winter garden" on the south side, which serves as a new back entrance to the station, with the commuter rail tracks about 50 feet below street level.

Services

All SEPTA Regional Rail trains stop at this station. All run through except those on the Cynwyd Line as well as some limited/express trains which terminate on one of the stub-end tracks at this station. Through trains usually change crews at this station.

The station has an extensive concourse level above track level. This concourse has SEPTA ticket offices, retail shops and restaurants, and access to other SEPTA stations and to several Center City buildings. The connections, via the large Center City Concourse, include the Broad Street Line at City Hall station, the Market–Frankford Line, Subway-Surface Lines at the 15th Street station, and the PATCO Speedline at 15–16th & Locust station.^[16]

Station layout

The station has a total of 8 tracks and 5 island platforms. It also includes a 7up, two Dunkin’s, an Enterjuicer, and more.

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view of Suburban Station
• 
  Front entrance of Suburban Station
• 
  Underground entrance
• 
  Waiting area
• 
  Concourse shops
• 
  Concourse shops
• 
  Entrance to the concourse

References

1. "Suburban Station". SEPTA. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
2. "Fare Zone Map" (PDF). SEPTA.
3. "FY 2020 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
5. SEPTA | Suburban Station
6. "FY 2020 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
7. Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1972" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society.
8. Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service. National Railroad Passenger Corporation. October 29, 1972. p. 43 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
9. Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. October 25, 1981. p. 22 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
10. Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1980-1989" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society.
11. Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. May 15, 1988. p. 65 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
12. Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. April 1, 1990. p. 69 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
13. Mark Fazlollah (August 22, 2017). "Notable SEPTA train accidents". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
14. "Suburban Station". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
15. BLTa Architects: Suburban Station
16. "Downtown Link Center City Concourse". SEPTA. Retrieved September 2, 2019.

External links

• SEPTA – Suburban Station
• Pennsylvania Railroad - Suburban Station (Pennsylvania Railroad Stations; Past & Present)
• JFK Boulevard and 17th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• JFK Boulevard and 18th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• JFK Boulevard and 16th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 16th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Main entrance from Google Maps Street View
• JFK Boulevard and 15th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View