Berks station

This article is about the Market-Frankford elevated station in Philadelphia. For the train station in Berks County, see Franklin Street station (Pennsylvania).

Berks station is an elevated rapid transit station on the SEPTA Market–Frankford Line, located at the corner of Front and Berks streets in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is also served by SEPTA bus route 3.

Berks
Berks station platform
General information
Location	1900 North Front Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°58′43″N 75°08′01″W
Owned by	City of Philadelphia
Operated by	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	SEPTA City Bus: 3
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	November 5, 1922 (November 5, 1922)[1]
Rebuilt	1997[2]
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station Girard toward 69th Street T.C. Market–Frankford Line York–Dauphin toward Frankford T.C.
Future services (2024) Preceding station SEPTA Metro Following station Front–Girard toward 69th Street York–Dauphin toward Frankford
Location

History

Station entrance

Berks is part of the Frankford Elevated section of the line, which began service on November 5, 1922.^[1][3][4][5]

Between 1988 and 2003, SEPTA undertook a $493.3 million reconstruction of the 5.5-mile (8.9 km) Frankford Elevated.^[5] Berks station was completely rebuilt on the site of the original station; the project included new platforms, elevators, windscreens, and overpasses, and the station now meets ADA accessibility requirements.^[5] The line had originally been built with track ballast and was replaced with precast sections of slab track, allowing the station (and the entire line) to remain open throughout the project.^[6]

During the Market–Frankford's rush-hour skip-stop service pattern, Berks was only served by "A" trains . This practice was discontinued on February 24, 2020.^[7][8]

Station layout

The station has two tracks and two side platforms. Access to and from the station is via the southwest corner of Berks & Front streets. There is also an exit-only staircase from the eastbound platform to the east side of Front Street.

In popular culture

In the film Maximum Risk, the station served as a stand-in for the New York City Subway Brighton Beach Station.^[9]

References

1. "Market-Frankford Subway–Elevated Line". SEPTA. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
2. "Frankford Elevated Rapid Rail Line". Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
3. 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. 17. OCLC 54770701.
4. Hepp, John (2013). "Subways and Elevated Lines". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
5. Edward L. Woods, Jr.; Thomas A. Nuxoll (1999). "The Frankford Elevated Reconstruction Project" (PDF). American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
6. American Public Transportation Association (1996). "Success Under Fire--A Discussion of the SEPTA-Frankford Elevated Reconstruction Project (FERP)". National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
7. Ralph, Pat (February 24, 2020). "SEPTA service changes mark end of skip-stop service on Market-Frankford Line". PhillyVoice. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
8. "SEPTA to Improve Market-Frankford Line Service Levels" (Press release). SEPTA. February 13, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
9. Trivia (Maximum Risk), IMDB

External links

• SEPTA – Berks station
• Images at NYCSubway.org
• Station entrance from Google Maps Street View