13th Street station (SEPTA)

13th Street station is a SEPTA subway station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, located under Market Street between 13th and Juniper Streets in Center City. The station serves the Market–Frankford Line and is the eastern terminal station for all five routes of the subway–surface trolley lines.

13th Street
13th Street station Market–Frankford Line platform
General information
Location	13th and Market streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°57′7″N 75°9′41″W
Owned by	City of Philadelphia
Operated by	SEPTA
Platforms	3 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	SEPTA City Bus: 17, 33, 38, 44, 48, 62 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125 NJ Transit Bus: 313, 315, 316, 317, 400, 401, 402, 404, 406, 408, 409, 410, 412, 414, 417, 551, 555
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	Market–Frankford Line: Yes Subway–surface trolley lines: No
History
Opened	August 3, 1908 (August 3, 1908)[1][2]
Previous names	13th/Juniper Streets[3] Juniper Street (subway–surface) (1908-2011)[4][5]
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station 15th Street toward 69th Street T.C. Market–Frankford Line 11th Street toward Frankford T.C. 15th Street toward 36th Street Portal or 40th Street Portal Subway–surface trolley lines Terminus
Future services (2024) Preceding station SEPTA Metro Following station 15th St/​City Hall toward 69th Street 11th Street toward Frankford 15th St/​City Hall toward 63rd–Malvern/​Overbrook Terminus 15th St/​City Hall toward 61st–Baltimore/​Angora 15th St/​City Hall toward Yeadon or Darby 15th St/​City Hall toward Darby 15th St/​City Hall toward 80th/​Eastwick
Location

13th Street is located on the east side of City Hall and Penn Square and is connected to the Downtown Link concourse, a collection of underground passageways serving multiple stations on the Market–Frankford Line, Broad Street Line, PATCO Speedline, and Regional Rail lines.^[6] The station is also served by bus routes operated by SEPTA's City Transit Division and Suburban Division, as well as NJ Transit Bus routes.

The subway–surface platform was known as Juniper Street until 2011.^[4][5][7] The station is signed as 13th/Juniper Streets on historical system maps.^[3]

History

The station opened on August 3, 1908, as part of the first extension of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company's Market Street subway.^[1][2] The line had originally opened a year earlier between 69th Street and 15th Street stations.^[1][2]

The Downtown Link and associated underground corridors surrounding the station are expected to undergo a two-year renovation project in conjunction with renovations to the Broad Street Line's City Hall station.^[8]

Market–Frankford Line platforms

The Market–Frankford Line platforms are located one floor below ground level, connected to the Downtown Link concourse.^[6] The south concourse, accessible from the eastbound platform, features direct underground access to SEPTA's headquarters and transit museum, located at 1234 Market Street. Market–Frankford trains continue west via Market Street across the Schuylkill River to serve West Philadelphia and Upper Darby, and continue east along Market until Front Street, turning north towards Northeast Philadelphia.

Subway–surface trolley platform

Subway–surface platform in 2017, showing the station's current name

The subway–surface trolley platform for Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36 is located two stories below ground level, and is accessible only by escalator or stairway from the Market–Frankford platforms. The station is located at the end of the subway–surface line on a balloon loop parallel to Juniper Street and features a single track with all trolleys operating in the same direction.

Inbound trolleys discharge passengers on the southernmost portion of the platform. The trolleys then proceed to pick up passengers at either Berth 1 or Berth 2. Routes 10, 11 and 13 board at Berth 1, which is located on the northernmost portion of the platform. Routes 34 and 36 board at Berth 2, which is in the center of the platform. Upon departure of the station, the track wraps around and heads west towards 15th Street station. It also features a short spur track to the northeast that was formerly used to park occasional stranded or dead trolleys. The track was recently disconnected from the main line due to unsuccessful attempts to tie it into the trolleys' communications-based train control signaling system.^{[citation needed]}

Station layout

The stations has two high-level side platforms for the Market–Frankford trains and one low-level side platform for subway–surface trolleys. Fare control and Downtown Link concourse access^[6] are both on the upper platform level.

Image gallery

• 
  Market–Frankford platform and tracks
• 
  Market–Frankford platform entrance
• 
  Headhouse and bus stop on the northeast corner of 13th & Market streets

References

1. Cox, Harold E. (1967). May, Jack (ed.). The Road from Upper Darby. The Story of the Market Street Subway-Elevated. New York, NY: Electric Railroaders' Association. p. 16. OCLC 54770701.
2. Hepp, John (2013). "Subways and Elevated Lines". The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.
3. SEPTA (July 1983). "SEPTA High Speed System". Transit Maps. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
4. SEPTA 13th/Juniper Street MFL station (Archived; May 2008)
5. SEPTA Juniper Subway-Surface Lines Station (Archived; May 2008)
6. "Downtown Link Center City Concourse". SEPTA. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
7. Image 72929, nycsubway.org
8. Rose, Kennedy (June 20, 2018). "See SEPTA's redesigned City Hall subway station concourse (Video)". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2020.

External links

• SEPTA – 13th Street station
• Juniper Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 13th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 12th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View