Buses will replace trolleys on SEPTA’s T routes for four of the next five weekends, and riders will need to use the L, or Market-Frankford Line, to access Center City.
The underground trolley tunnel will close at 2 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. Passengers will begin boarding buses from then until at least 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31, according to SEPTA. During the busing period, the T routes, formerly known as the 10, 34, 13, 11 and 36, will be diverted to 40th and Market streets. Some trips on the T4 and T5 will continue busing through the afternoon hours on Monday, dropping riders at the 40th Street Portal, transit officials said.
Buses will stop at the same street-level locations and follow the same path as when the tunnel is closed for maintenance.
SEPTA stated that the process will be repeated on the weekends beginning Sept. 12, Sept. 19 and Sept. 26, and advised passengers to “allow for extra travel time.”
Crews will be fixing an electrical substation at 33rd Street that “experienced water intrusion in recent weeks that makes these repairs necessary to avoid potential unplanned outages,” according to a post on the authority’s website.
SEPTA previously shut down the trolley tunnel for roughly two months due to damage to the overhead catenary system. There have been periodic closures since the underground tracks reopened in January.
MORE: What to know as SEPTA’s bus network overhaul begins
Keywords
SEPTA,
T routes,
Philadelphia transportation,
trolley tunnel,
West Philadelphia,
Market-Frankford Line