Local transportation authorities, including SEPTA and PATCO, have unveiled plans for express-style rail service and limited stops Friday to shuttle tens of thousands of passengers into, and out of, Philadelphia for the Eagles championship parade.
The festivities kick off at 11 a.m. at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue before proceeding north on Broad Street, heading up Benjamin Franklin Parkway and ending with a 2 p.m. ceremony at the art museum. But since fans will stream into the city much sooner to get a good spot, SEPTA is starting service before 5 a.m. and PATCO will begin service at 6 a.m.
RELATED: Eagles Super Bowl parade to end at Philly art museum – just like in 2018
On SEPTA, fans' "best bets" for getting into the city are the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines, which will run every 6 to 8 minutes, Interim General Manager Scott Sauer said at a news conference Wednesday. Rides on those two lines will be free all day Friday, covered by Kevin Hart's tequila line Gran Coramino. Regular fares apply to all other SEPTA services.
Regional Rail will operate inbound-only in the morning, as fans head to the city, and outbound-only in the afternoon, as they head home from the parade.
Riders are urged to plan their transportation itinerary based on where along the parade route they'd like to station themselves, and they are encouraged to arrive as early as possible to their chosen station for a smoother commute. Information about SEPTA's parade plans can be found online.
"It's going to be a great day; it's also going to be extremely challenging," Sauer said. "We're going to move the same number of people in a much shorter time frame than we do in a normal weekday. … What we ask from our customers is patience."
SEPTA's overall parade plan mirrors the one from the 2018 Eagles championship parade, when SEPTA "served everyone" and left no fans behind, Sauer said. That successful 2018 plan was created after the transportation authority "learned a great deal" from attempting to run largely unmodified service during the 2008 Phillies World Series parade. Like during the 2018 parade, there will be "very strategic" station closures Friday, based on customer capacity and how quickly trains can be moved through the stations, Sauer said. SEPTA also may choose to close stations throughout the day to avoid unsafe crowding.
"During the 2018 parade, we closed Walnut Locust station right around parade kickoff time around 11 a.m.," Sauer said. "We did that because we will not, and this is a very important lesson we learned in 2008, we will not continue to put people into a situation where they can't move. It's very dangerous for us."
SEPTA will be "all hands on deck" when it comes to staffing Friday, Sauer said. The SEPTA app may not have the same up-to-date information and tracking capabilities as it would on a normal day, Sauer added, so the stations will be staffed with workers available to answer questions and provide updates. People can also check the SEPTA website and social media accounts, particularly X (formerly Twitter), for the latest information.
As for PATCO, it will have only four New Jersey stations and one Philly station open.
Here is more information on SEPTA and PATCO service before and after the Eagles Super Bowl parade:
Broad Street Line
Service on the Broad Street Line, which is free Friday, will run every 6 to 8 minutes. Broad Street Line service will start at Fern Rock station at 4:45 a.m. and at NRG station at 4:52 a.m.
The entire 15th Street complex will be closed including City Hall station. The Broad Street Line has a capacity of 30,000 passengers per hour.
Here are the Broad Street Line stations that will be open Friday:
• Fern Rock Transportation Center
• Olney Transportation Center
• Erie
• North Philadelphia
• Cecil B. Moore
• Race-Vine
• Walnut-Locust
• Snyder
• Oregon
• NRG
Market-Frankford Line
Service on the Market-Frankford Line, which is free Friday, will run every 6 to 8 minutes. Service will begin at 69th St. station at 4:45 a.m. and at Frankford Transportation Center at 4:36 a.m.
The entire 15th Street complex will be closed including 13th Street station. Market-Frankford Line can hold 25,000 passengers per hour.
Here are the Market-Frankford Line stations that will be open Friday:
• Frankford Transportation Center
• Arrott Transportation Center
• Erie-Torresdale
• Allegheny
• Huntingdon
• Girard
• 11th Street
• 30th Street
• 40th Street
• 46th Street
• 52nd Street
• 60th Street
• 69th Street Transportation Center
Regional Rail
Regional Rail will run inbound service only from 4:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. Service to Center City will be available via Jefferson and 30th Street stations, which are within walking distance from the parade route.
Following the parade, Regional Rail will run outbound service only from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The Cynwyd and Chestnut Hill West lines will be suspended Friday. The Airport Line will run hourly inbound and outbound service all day between Philadelphia International Airport and 30th Street Station. There will be no service at Suburban, Penn Medicine or Temple University stations.
Regional Rail customers can use their SEPTA Key, as long as they're loaded up in advance, or special one-day passes. The one-day passes must be purchased in advance at a Regional Rail Sales Office before Friday. They cost $10 and are valid for 10 rides. If it's not used on parade day, it can be used at a later date. Regional Rail fares can't be purchased on the day of the parade. Riders should have their Key card or one-day pass at the ready while waiting in line for their train, as it will be checked before they can board.
Parking at Regional Rail stations will be limited, and available spots are expected to fill up early, so SEPTA encourages people to get dropped off at their stations if possible.
Here are the Regional Rail stations that will be open Friday, by line:
• Airport Line: Eastwick, Terminals A, B, C/D and E/F
• Chestnut Hill East Line: Chestnut Hill East and Wyndmoor
• Chestnut Hill West Line: No train service. Customers are advised to use Chestnut Hill East.
• Cynwyd Line: No train service
• Fox Chase Line: Fox Chase Station
• Lansdale/Doylestown Line: Doylestown, Lansdale, North Wales, Ambler, and Fort Washington
• Manayunk/Norristown Line: Elm Street, Norristown Transportation Center, and Manayunk
• Media/Wawa Line: Wawa, Media, and Primos.
• Paoli/Thorndale Line: Thorndale, Exton, Paoli, Wayne, and Bryn Mawr
• Trenton Line: Trenton, Levittown, and Cornwells Heights
• Warminster Line: Warminster and Jenkintown-Wyncote
• West Trenton Line: West Trenton, Woodbourne, Langhorne, and Philmont
• Wilmington/Newark Line: Wilmington, Marcus Hook, and Norwood
Other SEPTA Services
Buses will be detoured off and around Broad Street beginning late Thursday evening, and additional routes may be detoured based on traffic and crowd conditions throughout the day Friday.
All stations on the Norristown High Speed Line and Media Sharon Hill Line will be open Friday, with service running every 15 minutes and regular fares applicable for both. City Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 will not stop at 13th or 15th Street Stations. Trolley Routes 101 and 102 will stop at all stations, with service every 15 minutes.
SEPTA CCT Connect paratransit services will offer regular service Friday, though travel may be impacted significantly by traffic and detours. Customers using CCT Connect for medical care facilities near the parade route are urged to schedule appointments for the day before or after the parade if possible.
PATCO
PATCO is also adjusting service to accommodate the expected surge in ridership Friday. Only four New Jersey stations will be open: Lindenwold, Woodcrest, Ferry Avenue and City Hall. The only Philly station that will be open is 9/10th & Locust. All other stations will be closed.
From 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., trains will depart from each of the New Jersey stations approximately every 15 minutes and travel express, directly to 9/10th & Locust. This results in a train arriving in the city every 5 minutes, according to PATCO. There will be no eastbound service during this time
Then, from 1-7 p.m., there will be eastbound-only service from 9/10th & Locust. All trains will stop at City Hall, Ferry Ave., Woodcrest and Lindenwold. At 7 p.m., the normal weekday schedule will resume, with eastbound and westbound service to all stations.
Regular PATCO fare prices will apply for all customers 5 and older. Kids 4 and under ride for free. Paper tickets can be purchased on the day of the parade at station ticket windows and vending machines, but PATCO encourages riders to buy them ahead of time at their station. FREEDOM Cards should be reloaded as soon as possible, as it can take up to 4 hours for funds to be added to accounts and can be used at any station.
PATCO is expecting nearly 80,000 riders Friday, which is more than four times its normal daily weekday ridership, so riders should expect longer-than-usual travel and wait times. Parking is offered at the Lindenwold, Woodcrest and Ferry Avenue stations — and is not offered at City Hall — but it is expected to reach full capacity. People hoping to park at one of those stations should arrive early or should consider getting dropped off.
More information about PATCO's parade plans can be found online.
