SEPTA has changed some of its pairings of trains operating through the Center City Tunnel recently especially on weekend runs. When the R system was discontinued about a decade ago, one of the rationales given was the ending of the through train pairings. How should the trains be paired (if at all)?
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Ideal Train Pairings
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Moderator: AlexC
IMO it should be shortest to longest and vice versa and next shortest to next longest.
When the operation was in the planning stage the study group visited Munich to examine their pairings, among other things; they were advised not to pair two lines that were predominantly single-tracked, but to pair a single-track line with a double-track. Of course loadings on each line should be balanced as closely as possible so that you don't have 2-car trains overcrowded on one side or 4-car trains half empty or with 2 cars closed off on the other side. A lot of factors to juggle.
RCT: The rationale behind discontinuance of the R number train pairings was that they were not "fixed" and not to discontinue operations between the Reading and Pennsy
sides of the Regional Rail system. Over time there were pairing changes and by not
having the R number pairings made these more flexible to better adequately match
routes on both sides of the system.
The original November 1984 pairings and routes were:
R1-West Trenton to Center City (Airport Line opened in 1985)
R2-Marcus Hook (later Wilmington) to Warminster
R3-Media/West Chester to Center City
R4-(for future use)
R5-Paoli to Lansdale/Doylestown
R6-Elm Street Norristown to Cynwyd
R7-Chestnut Hill East to Trenton
R8-Chestnut Hill West to Fox Chase
Over time changes were made to pairings that made more sense and offered better balance to the Regional Rail System.
Some of these include long established changes such as these:
The Airport Line getting the R1 designation along with its own colors of yellow on black.
Pairing up West Trenton with Media/Elwyn and giving that route the R3 designation;
Wilmington to Norristown Elm Street was another with the routes retaining both R numbers.
Operating the Cynwyd Line (SEPTA RRD's "Dinky") as its own stand-alone route with single car service.the
Another established finding is using the yards adjacent to Center City to feed and
receive peak hour weekday trains to and from their designated line terminals.
The recent changes to pairings are to better match train service ridership and car requirements.
By ending through service to other lines via Center City the unified system that was created with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection (full name of the
CC Tunnel) would basically no longer exist.
In that case might as well go back to the days of Reading Terminal and
Suburban Station being two separate main Center City stations - which
can not happen with today's regional rail infrastructure...MACTRAXX
sides of the Regional Rail system. Over time there were pairing changes and by not
having the R number pairings made these more flexible to better adequately match
routes on both sides of the system.
The original November 1984 pairings and routes were:
R1-West Trenton to Center City (Airport Line opened in 1985)
R2-Marcus Hook (later Wilmington) to Warminster
R3-Media/West Chester to Center City
R4-(for future use)
R5-Paoli to Lansdale/Doylestown
R6-Elm Street Norristown to Cynwyd
R7-Chestnut Hill East to Trenton
R8-Chestnut Hill West to Fox Chase
Over time changes were made to pairings that made more sense and offered better balance to the Regional Rail System.
Some of these include long established changes such as these:
The Airport Line getting the R1 designation along with its own colors of yellow on black.
Pairing up West Trenton with Media/Elwyn and giving that route the R3 designation;
Wilmington to Norristown Elm Street was another with the routes retaining both R numbers.
Operating the Cynwyd Line (SEPTA RRD's "Dinky") as its own stand-alone route with single car service.the
Another established finding is using the yards adjacent to Center City to feed and
receive peak hour weekday trains to and from their designated line terminals.
The recent changes to pairings are to better match train service ridership and car requirements.
By ending through service to other lines via Center City the unified system that was created with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection (full name of the
CC Tunnel) would basically no longer exist.
In that case might as well go back to the days of Reading Terminal and
Suburban Station being two separate main Center City stations - which
can not happen with today's regional rail infrastructure...MACTRAXX
Last edited by MACTRAXX on Fri Jan 17, 2020 8:48 pm, edited 4 times in total.
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS
The One True Pairing (which assumed opening of Airport Line, construction of Swampoodle Connection, reconfiguration of Bryn Mawr with island platforms, and electric service to West Chester and Newtown) was:
R1 Airport to West Trenton / Jenkintown
R2 Marcus Hook to Warminster / Glenside
R3 West Chester / Elwyn to Chestnut Hill West
R4 Bryn Mawr to Newtown
R5 Paoli to Doylestown / Lansdale
R6 Ivy Ridge to Norristown
R7 Trenton to Chestnut Hill East / Wayne Junction (and some short turns at Suburban
See Vuchic and Kikuchi's paper: https://repository.upenn.edu/ese_papers/855/
R1 Airport to West Trenton / Jenkintown
R2 Marcus Hook to Warminster / Glenside
R3 West Chester / Elwyn to Chestnut Hill West
R4 Bryn Mawr to Newtown
R5 Paoli to Doylestown / Lansdale
R6 Ivy Ridge to Norristown
R7 Trenton to Chestnut Hill East / Wayne Junction (and some short turns at Suburban
See Vuchic and Kikuchi's paper: https://repository.upenn.edu/ese_papers/855/