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Elevating An Icon: The Past, Present, and Future of Philadelphia’s Market Frankford Line (The El)

  • wwv1817
  • Aug 13, 2024
  • 3 min read

Tuesday, August 13 2024


When discussing getting around the city of Philadelphia, it is impossible to avoid this term: The El. Not to be confused with Chicago’s “L” trains, Philadelphia’s SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, or as locals call it, the “El,” is the busiest rapid transit subway/elevated train line in the city of Philadelphia. It is absolutely iconic. Running east-west across the city from Frankford Transportation Center in Northeast Philadelphia, going straight through Center City under Market Street, serving Penn’s Landing, Independence Hall, Chinatown, City Hall, 30th Street, UPenn, Drexel, the Broad Street Line, the Broad Ridge Spur, the PATCO High-Speed Line, the Norristown High-Speed Line, all Trolley lines except Rt. 15, and wrapping its journey up at 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby. With its two five-foot-wide steel tracks carrying more people per day in 2019 than vehicles on I-95 (the section within the city), the El will always play an extremely significant role in the city's development and remain a vital transportation artery today.


It all began in the 1900s when the City of Philadelphia sought to ease traffic congestion and improve public transportation–just like many other cities at the time. The idea of an elevated subway line was first proposed in the late 19th century, but it wasn’t until 1903 that construction began. The line was planned as a combination of elevated tracks and subway tunnels, providing fast and efficient transit through the now densely populated areas along Market Street, Front Street, Kensington Ave, and Frankford Ave. 


The first line segment opened on March 4, 1907, running from 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby to 15th Street/City Hall in Center City. This section was completely elevated, allowing trains to wizz right over the traffic below. The underground section, which extended eastward under Market Street, was opened in 1908, reaching 2nd Street in Old City. The line was later expanded to include the alignment of the Frankford Elevated, which opened in 1922, bringing the line to its full-length today from 69th Street to Frankford Transportation Center.

A view of 40th Street Station on the El from the Eastbound Platform. 40th Street is the westernmost underground station on the El, and serves the rapidly gentrifying area west of University City.

Over the years, the El has undergone several upgrades and renovations. In the 1950s, the original wooden cars were replaced with more modern, steel-bodied trains. The line was extensively renovated in the 1970s and 1980s to improve safety and reliability, especially along Market Street, with new stations being built and tracks being upgraded to handle increased ridership.


The state of the El had often reflected the state of Philadelphia. When the city boomed, the El followed, and when the city fell into disrepair, so would the El. It makes up, maybe alongside the Broad Street Line, the veins and arteries of Philadelphia. In recent times, especially with the pandemic, El, like the city, has also begun to struggle—especially with ridership. Open-air drug markets and consumers of fentanyl-laced drugs and opioids swarmed the entrances of Allegheny and Somerset stations, located along Kensington Avenue. Here, we saw hundreds of homeless, drug-addicted individuals completely incapacitated, with many of the problems on the streets below the El beginning to bleed into the system—needles in the tracks and the consumption of hard drugs onboard becoming normal. However, SEPTA Transit police cracked down on many of these issues, while not fully, and the El’s ridership and maintenance will hopefully continue to recover from the pandemic, just like the city it serves. 


However, El’s future is bright. Plans are underway to convert the train’s signaling system to automatic operation, allowing for tighter train frequencies, improved service reliability, and increased capacity. SEPTA is also replacing the aging “M-4” trains with new, state-of-the-art “M-5” trains from Hitachi, featuring updated wayfinding technology, higher speeds, enhanced passenger comfort, and upgraded capacities. Additionally, many station renovation initiatives focus on making all its stops fully accessible with new elevators and ramps. The El will always be the artery of Philadelphia; it's the most iconic way to get from Point A to Point B. And as the City continues to evolve into the depths of modern development, the El will always follow suit. 




Bibliography


Gomez, A. (2022, July 28). Inside SEPTA’s challenges and changes with its newest acting police chief. 6abc Philadelphia. https://6abc.com/septa-philadelphia-safety-new-police-chief-chuck-lawson-market-frankford-line/12077493/ 


LeFevre, R. (2023, June 22). Your City Defined: The El Explained. 



nycsubway.org: SEPTA Market-Frankford Elevated. (n.d.). https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/SEPTA_Market-Frankford_Elevated Philadelphia, C. (2024, July 26). 


SEPTA buys new rail cars for Market-Frankford Line, and more top stories | Digital Brief. CBS Philadelphia. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/video/septa-buys-new-rail-cars-for-market-frankford-line-and-more-top-stories-digital-brief/ Rinde, M. (2022, November 1). 


The Frankford El celebrates its centennial: 100 years of connecting neighborhoods to Center City. WHYY. https://whyy.org/articles/frankford-el-philadelphia-transit-septa-100-years/ 


The Frankford Elevated. (n.d.). SEPTA. https://iseptaphilly.com/blog/frankfordelevated Zilber, A. (2021, April 13). 


 

Renderings of new SEPTA train cars for Market-Frankford Line revealed. 6abc Philadelphia. https://6abc.com/post/renderings-new-septa-train-cars-market-frankford-line/15098634/

 
 
 
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