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30th Street Station

Coordinates: 39°57′21″N 75°10′55″W / 39.95583°N 75.18194°W / 39.95583; -75.18194
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This article is about the Amtrak, NJ Transit, and SEPTA Regional Rail station in Philadelphia. For the adjacent SEPTA rapid transit station, see 30th Street station (subway). For other uses, see 30th Street (disambiguation).
30th Street Station
30th Street Station illuminated for the 2016 Democratic Convention.
General information
Location2955 Market Street (PA 3)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
Coordinates39°57′21″N 75°10′55″W / 39.95583°N 75.18194°W / 39.95583; -75.18194
Owned byAmtrak
Line(s)Northeast Corridor
Keystone Corridor (Main Line)
SEPTA Main Line
Platforms9 island platforms (3 upper level, 6 lower level)
Tracks15 (6 upper level, 9 lower level)
Connections
  Market–Frankford Line at 30th Street
  Subway–surface trolley lines at 30th Street
City Bus SEPTA City Bus: 9, 12, 21, 30, 31, 42, 44, 62, LUCY
Suburban Bus SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
JFK Boulevard & 30th Street
NJT Bus NJT Bus: 316, 414, 417, 555
Intercity Bus Megabus: M21, M23, M29, M30, M31, M32, M34
Intercity Bus BoltBus
Intercity bus Bieber Transportation Group
Intercity bus Martz Trailways
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codePHL (Amtrak)[1]
Fare zoneC (SEPTA)
History
Opened1933 (Replaced West Philadelphia Station)
Rebuilt1989
ElectrifiedYes
Previous namesPennsylvania Station–30th Street
Passengers
2012580 (Average weekday)[2] (NJT)
FY 20174,411,662[3] Increase 1.9% (Amtrak)
201525,702 (Average weekday)[4] (SEPTA)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
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Suspended
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SEPTA
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TerminusTemplate:SEPTA lines
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NJT
TerminusTemplate:NJT lines
Former services
Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station
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PRR
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Thirtieth Street station
LocationW. River Dr., Market, 30th, and Arch Sts.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built1927-1933[6]
ArchitectGraham, Anderson, Probst & White
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.78002456[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 7, 1978
Designated PHMCDecember 17, 1996[7]
Location
30th Street Station is located in Philadelphia
30th Street Station
30th Street Station
Location within Philadelphia

30th Street Station is an intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is Philadelphia's main railroad station, and is a major stop on Amtrak's Northeast and Keystone corridors. It doubles as a major commuter rail station; it is served by all Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Regional Rail lines, and is the western terminus for New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line. It is also served by several SEPTA city and suburban buses, as well as buses operated by NJ Transit and intercity operators.

Description

The station is located at 2955 Market Street.[1] It is located in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood, just across the Schuylkill River from Center City. The building, which first opened in 1933, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Amtrak's code for the station is PHL.[1] Its IATA Airport Code is ZFV on United because Amtrak's service to Newark Liberty International Airport is codeshared with United Airlines.

30th Street Station is Amtrak's third-busiest station, and the busiest of the 24 stations served in Pennsylvania, serving 4,411,662 passengers in fiscal year 2017. On an average day in fiscal 2013, about 12,000 people boarded or left trains in Philadelphia, nearly twice as many as in the rest of the Pennsylvania stations combined.[3]

History

The former West Philadelphia station being removed in 1931 during construction of 30th Street Station
PRR heralds at 30th Street Station

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was headquartered in Philadelphia, acquired tunnel rights from the Schuylkill River to 15th Street from the city of Philadelphia in return for land that the city needed to construct the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This allowed the company to build both Suburban Station and the 30th Street Station,[8] which replaced Broad Street station as the latter was too small. Broad Street Station was a stub-end terminal in Center City and through trains had to back in and out, and the company wanted a location which would accommodate trains between New York City and Washington. D.C. Broad St. station also handled a large commuter operation, which the new underground Suburban Station was built to handle. (Because of the Depression and World War II, Broad St. station didn't close until 1952.)[9]

The Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the successor to D.H. Burnham & Company,[8] designed the structure, originally known as Pennsylvania Station–30th Street in accord with the naming style of other Pennsylvania Stations. Its design was influenced by the Northeast Corridor electrification that allowed trains to pass beneath the station without exposing passengers to soot as steam engines of earlier times had. The station had a number of innovative features, including a pneumatic tube system, an electronic intercom, and a reinforced roof with space for small aircraft to land,[10] and contained a mortuary, a chapel and more than 3,000 square feet of hospital space.[8]

Construction began in 1927 and the station opened in 1933, starting with two platform tracks.[6] The vast waiting room is faced with travertine and the coffered ceiling is painted gold, red and cream. The building's exterior has columned porte-cocheres on the west and east facade, and shows a balance between classical and modern architectural styles.[8]

Ben Franklin Station

In 2005, Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trust asked Amtrak to change the name of 30th Street Station to "Ben Franklin Station"[11] as part of the celebration of Ben Franklin's 300th birthday in January 2006. The cost of replacing signs at the station was estimated at $3 million.

In January, Philadelphia Mayor John Street threw his support behind the name change, but others had mixed reactions to the proposal. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a former mayor of Philadelphia, was lukewarm, while Amtrak officials worried that a "Ben" station could be confused with its other three "Penn" stations.[12] On January 25, 2006, Pew abandoned the campaign, giving no reason.[12]

Renaming

In August 2014, a federal law was passed that will change the name of the station to William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in honor of the late congressman.[13] At the time, the change was scheduled to occur "in the next few months".[14]

Present day

Overview of the lines serving 30th Street

The building is owned by Amtrak and houses many Amtrak corporate offices, although Amtrak is officially headquartered at Union Station in Washington, D.C. The 562,000 ft² (52,000 m²) facility features a cavernous main passenger concourse with ornate Art Deco decor.[citation needed]

Prominently displayed is the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial, which honors Pennsylvania Railroad employees killed in World War II. It consists of a bronze statue of the archangel Michael lifting the body of a dead soldier out of the flames of war, and was sculpted by Walker Hancock in 1950. On the four sides of the base of that sculpture are the 1,307 names of those employees in alphabetical order.[citation needed]

The building was restored in 1991 by Dan Peter Kopple & Associates.[8] When the station was renovated, updated retail amenities were added. They include several shops, a large food court, car rental facilities, Saxbys Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, and others.[citation needed]

The Amtrak 30th Street Parking Garage was designed by BLT Architects and completed in 2004. This nine-level, double helix garage provides 2,100 parking spaces and glass-enclosed stair tower and elevator to offer views of Philadelphia.[15] The following year (2005) the Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge was completed and designed with contribution from BLT Architects. The Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge provides direct access for pedestrians from 30th Street Station to the parking garage and Cira Centre; this prevents pedestrians from interacting with heavy traffic from PA 3 and I-76.[16]

Busiest station

The station is one of the busiest intercity passenger railroad facilities in the United States. The station also has extensive local and regional passenger volume; it is one of SEPTA's three primary regional rail hubs. It is within walking distance of various attractions in West Philadelphia, notably the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and the University City Science Center, all in University City.[citation needed]

Street access

Many important highways and streets pass next to or near the station. Vehicles and taxicabs can reach the station from various major routes, including Market Street (PA 3), Interstate 76 (more commonly known as the Schuylkill Expressway in the Philadelphia area), and Interstate 676 (more commonly known as the Vine Street Expressway in the city of Philadelphia).[10] The John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge is just east of the station.[citation needed]

Rail access

Trains from SEPTA, Amtrak, and New Jersey Transit serve the station. The three east-west Upper Level platforms serve SEPTA Regional Rail; all 13 Regional Rail lines stop at the station. It is one of three stations that are part of the Center City Commuter Connection. The north-south Lower Level platforms serve Amtrak trains, as well as NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line.[citation needed]

SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line (also known as the "El") and all of SEPTA's Subway-Surface Lines (Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36) stop at the 30th Street subway station, less than half a block, or 0.1 miles (0.16 km), from the southwest entrance to 30th Street Station. A tunnel connecting the underground subway station and 30th Street Station was closed in the 1980s.[17]

A number of SEPTA's bus routes include stops at the station on their routes.[citation needed]

Cira Centre

Cira Centre, a 28-story glass-and-steel office tower opened in October 2005, is across Arch Street to the north and is connected by a skyway at the station's mezzanine level next to the upper-level SEPTA Regional Rail platforms. The tower is owned by Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust, was designed by architect César Pelli and BLT Architects,[15][16] and sits on land leased from Amtrak.[citation needed]

A collection of equipment at Race Street in 2000

Amtrak maintenance facilities

Amtrak owns and operates the Penn Coach Yard and Race Street Engine House equipment repair and maintenance facility at the 30th Street Station.[citation needed]

Station facilities

ClubAcela

The station has one of Amtrak's four ClubAcelas, which are open to Amtrak Guest Rewards members with a ClubAcela pass, Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus and Select Executive members, Acela Express first-class passengers, sleeping car passengers on overnight trains, United Airlines Polaris Business and Polaris First, United Airlines United Club members, and private railcar owners and lessees when the car is being hauled by Amtrak.

Rental cars and car sharing

Budget Rent a Car, National, Avis, Alamo, and Hertz Rent A Car rent cars at counters in 30th Street Station.

Zipcar and PhillyCarShare vehicles are parked outside 30th Street Station, mostly in reserved parking spaces on the south side of the station or, during construction, in the controlled-access parking lot outside Cira Centre.

  • Interior in August 1976
    Interior in August 1976
  • A bird's eye view (April 1977)
    A bird's eye view (April 1977)
  • Another view of the interior
    Another view of the interior
  • Corinthian columns of the portico
    Corinthian columns of the portico
  • Spirit of Transportation (1895) by Karl Bitter
    Spirit of Transportation (1895) by Karl Bitter
  • Upper level platforms
    Upper level platforms

The station was featured in the 1981 film Blow Out, the 1983 film Trading Places, the 1985 film Witness, the 2000 film Unbreakable, the 2010 video game Heavy Rain, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 2, episode 7), and the 2015 film The Visit. The station also features in the opening credits of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Philadelphia, PA (PHL): 30th Street Station". Amtrak. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b "Amtrak State Fact Sheet, FY2017, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). setpa.org.
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Teitelman, Edward & Longstreth, Richard W. (1981), Architecture in Philadelphia: A Guide, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, ISBN 0262700212: 186 
  7. ^ "Pennsylvania Station – PHMC Historical Markerswork=Historical Marker Database". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e Gallery, John Andrew, ed. (2004), Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City (2nd ed.), Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture, ISBN 0962290815, p.106
  9. ^ Kyriakodis, Harry (February 9, 2007). "The Subways, Railways and Stations of Philly: Written Material to Accompany a Mostly-Underground Tour from 30th Street Station to Market East station" (PDF). prrths.com. Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2005. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Dunson, Edward (February 3, 1978). "30th Street Station" National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form" (PDF). dot7.state.pa.us. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  11. ^ Saffron, Inga (December 25, 2005). "Proposal calls for Ben Station: Renaming the 30th St. depot to honor Franklin is on the table". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Interstate General Media. Archived from the original on December 28, 2005.
  12. ^ a b "Family Entertainment Guide". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  13. ^ Pub. L. 113–158 (text) (PDF), H.R. 4838, 128 Stat. 1838, enacted August 8, 2014
  14. ^ "30th Street Station Renames for Late Congressman". 6abc.com. WPVI-TV. August 9, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Amtrak 30th Street Station Parking Garage". BLTa.
  16. ^ a b "Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge". BLTa.
  17. ^ Saffron, Inga (March 7, 2003). "Subway riders get shortchanged at 30th St. Station". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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