33rd Street station (SEPTA)

33rd Street station is a subway station in Philadelphia. It is located on the campus of Drexel University and serves all routes of the SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines.^[1] It is the last station of the subway–surface lines with all lines before the Route 10 splits away and exits the tunnel at 36th Street.^[2] The stop is located on the campus of Drexel University.^[3]

33rd Street
33rd Street station platform
General information
Location	33rd and Market Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°57′20″N 75°11′22″W
Owned by	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	SEPTA City Bus: 30, 31, 49, LUCY
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	No
History
Opened	October 15, 1955 (1955-10-15)
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station 36th Street Portal toward 63rd & Malvern Route 10 Drexel Station at 30th Street toward 13th Street 36th Street toward Darby T.C. Route 11 36th Street toward Yeadon Loop or Darby T.C. Route 13 36th Street toward 61st & Baltimore Route 34 36th Street toward 80th Street–Eastwick Route 36
Former services Preceding station Philadelphia Transportation Company Following station 30th Street toward 69th Street Market Elevated 19th Street toward Frankford
Future services (2024) Preceding station SEPTA Metro Following station 36th Street Portal toward 63rd–Malvern/​Overbrook Drexel Station at 30th Street toward 13th Street 36th–Sansom toward 61st–Baltimore/​Angora 36th–Sansom toward Yeadon or Darby 36th–Sansom toward Darby 36th–Sansom toward 80th/​Eastwick
Location

History

Platform level at 33rd Street

The station was opened in November 1955 by the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) as part of a larger project to move portions of the elevated Market Street Line and surface trolleys underground.^[4] The original project to bury the elevated tracks between 23rd to 46th streets was announced by the PTC's predecessor, the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, in the 1920s, but was delayed due to the Great Depression and World War II.^[5] The PTC's revised project also included a new subway–surface tunnel for subway–surface trolleys underneath the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, continuing from the original western portal at 23rd and Market streets to new portals at 36th and Ludlow streets for Route 10 and 40th Street and Baltimore Avenue for other routes.^[5]

On April 11, 1988, a trolley derailed at the station, injuring 27 people.^[6]

Station layout

The station has two low-level side platforms, each capable of platforming two trolleys at a time. Fares are collected on board trolleys.

References

1. Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1.
2. Springirth, Kenneth C. (2016). Philadelphia Electrified Rail Lines In Color. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. ISBN 978-1-5824-8498-3.
3. "University City Campus Map". Drexel University. 22 November 2021.
4. Puckett, John L. and Mark Frazier Lloyd. Becoming Penn: The Pragmatic American University, 1950–2000, p. 35, at Google Books, accessed May 31, 2020.
5. John L. Puckett. "Putting the Market Street Elevated Underground". West Philadelphia Collaborative History. University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
6. Baker, Paul (April 11, 1988). "Driver, Passenger Still Hospitalized in Crash". Philadelphia Daily News.

External links

Media related to 33rd Street (SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• SEPTA – 33rd Street station
• Images at NYCSubway.org