SEPTA Holiday Service: Everything You Need to Know

Overnight service on the eves, extra Center City trains to accommodate early Christmas Eve departures, added service for Eagles, fireworks, Mummers, and more.

septa-trolley-940x540

Photo | Jack Cotter

One good thing about Christmas and New Year’s Day this year: Both fall on a Friday, so there will be overnight rapid transit service both days.

There will also be overnight rapid transit service the night before both. That’s one of several adjustments SEPTA is making to handle holiday travel.

Here’s the full rundown on the adjustments as per SEPTA:

Thursday, December 24th (Christmas Eve)

  • City bus and trolley routes will operate on modified weekday schedules today. The special schedules can be downloaded from SEPTA’s website or picked up at SEPTA Customer Service offices and major transit and Regional Rail stations.
  • Suburban buses and trolleys will operate on regular weekday schedules.
  • To accommodate workers headed home early, eight Regional Rail trains that usually depart Center City during the evening peak will operate under different train numbers and depart at midday. A page on SEPTA’s website lists those trains and their departure times on that day. All other Regional Rail trains will operate normally.
  • The Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines will operate all night.

Friday, December 25th (Christmas Day)

  • All bus, trolley and rapid transit routes will operate on a Sunday/holiday schedule.
  • Regional Rail routes will operate on special schedules that can be downloaded from SEPTA’s website.
  • The Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines will operate all night.

Saturday-Sunday, December 26th-27th

  • All services will operate on normal weekend schedules.
  • On Saturday, December 26th, additional Sports Express and local trains will operate on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines to accommodate fans headed to the Eagles vs. Redskins game at Lincoln Financial Field. The first southbound Sports Express train leaves Fern Rock at 5:28 p.m. Additional northbound trains will operate after the game. Details are at SEPTA’s sports service page.

Monday-Thursday, December 28th-31st

  • All bus and trolley routes in city and suburbs will operate on modified weekday schedules, downloadable from SEPTA’s website and available at Customer Service offices and major rail stations.

Thursday, December 31st (New Year’s Eve)

  • Extra late-evening trains will operate on the Market-Frankford Line to take revelers to the fireworks display at Penn’s Landing.
  • The Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines will operate all night.

Friday, January 1st (New Year’s Day)

  • All SEPTA services will operate on a Sunday/holiday schedule.
  • Broad Street Line trains will operate every 8 to 10 minutes from 8 a.m. until at least 6 p.m. to accommodate travelers headed to and from the Mummers Parade.
  • The Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines will operate all night.

Saturday-Sunday, January 2nd-3rd

  • All services will operate on normal weekend schedules.

Monday, January 4th

  • Normal service resumes on all routes.

SEPTA advises that the modified service schedule may not be reflected in its mobile app, and that travelers should rely on septa.org for up-to-date travel information.

Follow Sandy Smith on Twitter.