A/B stops to be eliminated on the Market-Frankford Line

[rcthompson04]

The change is part of other service enhancements.

https://trib.al/81n20p6

ADMIN NOTE: added fair-use quote:

Accidentally getting on the wrong train and then blowing past your destination because you got on the "A" El train instead of the "B" will be a thing of the past.

SEPTA is ending its long-standing skip-stop service on the Market-Frankford Line during rush hour, meaning there will no longer be "A" trains and "B" trains that stop at every other station. All trains will stop at all stations starting Feb. 23, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch confirmed Wednesday.
...

[JeffK]

While I've mostly used the western side of the line, I don't see this change as a big downside. It was coming anyway. With ridership at many A/B stations going up a skipped stop means platforms can become very crowded. Time saved by skipping a station would be negated by a longer dwell at an opposite-lettered stop.

I'm not sure how many people were affected but I remember gripes from riders whose trips were between opposite-lettered stations. They'd have to make a forced transfer at an intermediate all-stop station.

Waiting now for the usual armchair "urban planners" in the Inky's comment section to start fussing about why SEPTA can't just add more tracks ...

[rcthompson04]

Waiting now for the usual armchair "urban planners" in the Inky's comment section to start fussing about why SEPTA can't just add more tracks ...

I saw a few on their Facebook page!

[John_Perkowski]

Admin note

Topic locked until Alex can sort it out.

[AlexC]

Unlocked - per fair use quote.

[JimBoylan]

Did S.E.P.T.A. just acquire a Roving Resume from the Chicago Transit Authority? The C.T.A. eliminated its A/B skip stop service so that the intervals between rush hour trains could be increased without having as great an impact on the skipped stops.

[Patrick Boylan]

Allegedly along with eliminating the skip stops we're going to get more frequent headways. You say Chicago eliminated them without enhancing the headways.

[JimBoylan]

I'm saying that Chicago Transit Authority eliminated skip stop service so they could increase the intervals between trains without having as great an impact on the former skip stop stations.

[JeffK]

More was posted yesterday on WHHY/PlanPhilly: https://whyy.org/articles/septa-to-incr ... ford-line/

Dropping early-evening headways from 10 minutes to 6 should make a big difference (at least during those hours) now that A/B stops are going away.

[MACTRAXX]

Everyone:

The timetable eliminating MFSE A and B stops takes effect on Sunday February 23rd.
The first weekday schedule with this change is Monday February 24th.

The current hours that A/B skip stop service is in effect weekdays is 7 to 8 AM
and 4 to 5 PM (September 1, 2019 MFSE timetable)

Interestingly in the August 26, 2018 MFSE timetable the service was timed differently in this manner -
Eastbound:
A trains operate from 69th Street between 6:59 and 7:49 AM; 3:58 and 5:28 PM.
B trains operate from 69th Street between 7:04 and 7:54 AM; 4:03 and 5:33 PM.
Westbound:
A trains operate from Frankford TC between 6:59 and 7:49 AM; 3:58 and 5:28 PM.
B trains operate from Frankford TC between 7:04 and 7:54 AM; 4:03 and 5:33 PM.
This was 50 minutes AM and 90 minutes PM to be exact.

The stations affected are (in order west to east)
Millbourne-B
63rd Street-A
Berks-A
York/Dauphin-B
Huntingdon-A
Somerset-B
Tioga-A
Church-B

In the past there were more A/B stations that have been changed to all stop
stations as ridership to/from and individual station use increased.

JB mentions the once-operated CTA (Chicago) A/B skipstop service - which was
discontinued in 1995. This is further described here:
http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lin ... s/A-B.html
For a much larger system such as CTA A/B trains were once useful.

This change to eliminate A/B MFSE service in favor of all stops at all times
is a simple one - but the end of a era nonetheless...MACTRAXX