CITY LIMITS (sidebar): SEPTA project will renovate commuter rail lines

In less than one month, University faculty, staff and administrators who take take regional rail lines to work will undergo a whole new commuting experience. The project includes renovating 25 deteriorating rail bridges which are primarily located in North Philadelphia, SEPTA Spokesperson Jim Whitaker said. Whitaker also said the project will be done in two time segments. The first will be from April 5 to October 3 of this year, and the second will be from May 2 to September 4, 1993. During these time frames three commuter rails, the R2 to Warminster, the R5 to Lansdale/Doylestown and the R3 to West Trenton, will terminate at the new Fern Rock Transportation Center in North Philadelphia, Whitaker said. Currently, these lines run into Center City Philadelphia. At the transportation center commuters will board the Broad Street subway line, which will take them to City Hall in Center City. Both express lines and local lines will be available from the transportation center. In addition, three rail lines, the R6 to Norristown, the R7 to Chestnut Hill East and the R8 to Fox Chase will not operate at all during the project, according to Whitaker. Whitaker said SEPTA will provide alternative bus service in most cases. For R6 commuters, the trolley Route 100 line will run to Philadelphia's 69th Street Terminal, he said. According to a University Transportaion Deparment spokesperson, between 300 and 350 University workers who live outside of the city take SEPTA Compasses, passes for the commuter rail lines, from the University everyday. In addition, the spokeperson said other University members, who work at the University, but not every day, do not buy passes but also use the commuter lines. Whitaker also said the project is broken into two time frames and will not continue throughout the entire year because the number of riders is lower in the summer than in the winter. In addition, the weather is more suitable for constuction work. A possible SEPTA city workers strike would not affect the commuter line workers, who operate under a separate contract. Still, Whitaker said SEPTA does not know how a strike would affect the feasibility of beginning the project.

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