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Riding The Patco Speed Line From New Jersey to Phildelphia, Pa

The PATCO Speedline, also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line or Lindenwold High Speed Line.  

This is a rapid transit system operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation, which runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden County, New Jersey. The Speedline runs underground in Philadelphia, crosses the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, runs underground in Camden, then runs above ground in New Jersey until the east end of the line. The Port Authority Transit Corporation and the Speedline are owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. Speedline operation began on February 15, 1969, with the first trip from Lindenwold, New Jersey, to Center City, Philadelphia. The line transports over 33,000 people daily.  The system operates 24 hours a day. 

Riding the Patco Speed line is a great way get between points in Camden County and rest of New Jersey.  

New Jersey Transit connections

New Jersey Transit buses connect to most PATCO stations in New Jersey. The New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line also stops at Lindenwold Station, and the River Line connects at Broadway Station (Walter Rand Transportation Center).

SEPTA connections

The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Market-Frankford Line connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station, which is five blocks away from SEPTA Market East Station, where all of SEPTA's regional trains stop.

SEPTA's Broad Street Line connects to PATCO at the Walnut-Locust station via a short underground walkway to PATCO's 12th-13th & Locust, and 15-16th & Locust stations. The Broad-Ridge Spur connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station via a pedestrian walkway.

A special "SEPTA Transfer" ticket may be purchased from the unpaid side of any NJ station. These tickets are sold for $2.60 ($1.30 per ride, a savings compared to a single $2 cash fare or a token for $1.55) and dispense two paper receipts, one good for a ride within one hour of the time of purchase and another good for a ride within 24 hours of the time of purchase. Originally, both transfers were going to be valid for 24 hours, however, PATCO changed the time limit to prevent the unauthorized sale of PATCO transfers at PA stations.

Amtrak connections

The stations of the PATCO Speedline are a few miles from making connections with inter-city Amtrak trains at 30th Street Station. To make the connection to 30th Street Station, one must either transfer at the 8th Street and Market Station to the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, and then travel four stations west to 30th Street Station or walk through the Gallery Mall to the Market East Regional Rail station and then catch any Regional Rail train to 30th St Station. While the MFL option involves less walking, the Regional Rail option is free for anyone holding Amtrak tickets (even though tickets are not normally lifted between the 3 Center City Regional Rail stations anyway). Alternatively, one can ride to 30th Street via the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line from theLindenwold Station.

 

 


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