Thursday morning rail news in brief:
The Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will increase Regional Rail service on most lines as of Sunday, June 28, to reflect increasing activity in the Philadelphia area after COVID-19 closures. Weekday hourly service will return on most lines as of Monday, July 29. Schedules will feature hourly weekday service and weekend service on two-hour intervals on lines except:
— The Media/Elwyn and Fox Chase lines, which will have hourly service on weekdays and service every two to three hours on weekends;
— The Airport Line, which will have service every half hour on weekdays and every hour on weekends;
— The West Trenton line, where schedule changes will be announced later due to ongoing construction;
— The Chestnut Hill West and Cynwyd lines, where service remains suspended.
Schedule details are available here.
NJ Transit to resume full service July 6
NJ Transit will restore full commuter and light rail service as of July 6, with capacity limits and mask requirements for riders remaining in place. CEO Kevin Corbett said in a release announcing the restored schedules that the agency is “doing it proactively while ridership is still only at approximately 20% of pre-COVID-19 levels. … It’s critical that we stay ahead of the demand to maximize the opportunity for social distancing while we ensure that we continue providing the cleanest and safest travel environment for our customers and employees.” Per an executive order by Gov. Phil Murphy, ridership is limited to 50% of the maximum capacity of railcars and light rail vehicles.
Metro Transit increasing light rail hours of service
Metro Transit in Minneapolis-St. Paul will increase service on light rail and some bus routes as of Saturday. Service on the light rail Blue and Green lines will be offered from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., with trains operating at 15-minute intervals. Currently, the light rail system is only operating between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
