30th Street Station

30th Street Station
30th Street Station illuminated for the 2016 Democratic Convention.
Location	2955 Market Street (PA 3) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
Coordinates	39°57′21″N 75°10′55″W / 39.95583°N 75.18194°W / 39.95583; -75.18194Coordinates: 39°57′21″N 75°10′55″W / 39.95583°N 75.18194°W / 39.95583; -75.18194
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor Keystone Corridor (Main Line) SEPTA Main Line
Platforms	9 island platforms (3 upper level, 6 lower level)
Tracks	15 (6 upper level, 9 lower level)
Connections	Market–Frankford Line at 30th Street   Subway–Surface Trolley Lines at 30th Street SEPTA City Bus: 9, 12, 21, 30, 31, 42, 44, 62, LUCY SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125 JFK Boulevard & 30th Street NJT Bus: 316, 414, 417, 555 Megabus: M21, M23, M29, M30, M31, M32, M34 BoltBus Bieber Transportation Group Martz Trailways
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	PHL (Amtrak)[1]
Fare zone	C (SEPTA)
History
Opened	1933 (Replaced West Philadelphia Station)
Rebuilt	1989
Electrified	Yes
Previous names	Pennsylvania Station–30th Street
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	580 (Average weekday)[2] (NJT)
Passengers (FY 2017)	4,411,662[3]  1.9% (Amtrak)
Passengers (2015)	25,702 (Average weekday)[4] (SEPTA)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Wilmington toward Washington, D.C. Acela Express Trenton toward Boston South Vermonter Trenton toward St. Albans Wilmington toward Chicago Cardinal Suspended Trenton toward New York Wilmington toward Charlotte Carolinian Wilmington toward New Orleans Crescent Wilmington toward Savannah Palmetto Paoli toward Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian Wilmington toward Miami Silver Meteor Silver Star Ardmore toward Harrisburg Keystone Service North Philadelphia toward New York Wilmington toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Roanoke Northeast Regional North Philadelphia toward Boston South or Springfield SEPTA University City toward Airport Airport Line Suburban Station toward Temple University North Philadelphia toward Chestnut Hill West Chestnut Hill West Line University City toward Elwyn Media/Elwyn Line Overbrook toward Thorndale Paoli/​Thorndale Line North Philadelphia toward Trenton Trenton Line University City toward Newark Wilmington/​Newark Line Wynnefield Avenue toward Cynwyd Cynwyd Line Suburban Station Terminus Terminus Chestnut Hill East Line Suburban Station toward Chestnut Hill East Fox Chase Line Suburban Station toward Fox Chase Lansdale/​Doylestown Line Suburban Station toward Doylestown Manayunk/​Norristown Line Suburban Station toward Elm Street University City Terminus Warminster Line Suburban Station toward Warminster West Trenton Line Suburban Station toward West Trenton NJ Transit Rail Terminus Atlantic City Line Pennsauken Transit Center toward Atlantic City
Former services Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station 52nd Street toward Thorndale Paoli/​Thorndale Line Suburban Station toward Temple University 52nd Street toward Cynwyd Cynwyd Line Suburban Station Terminus Pennsylvania Railroad 52nd Street toward Chicago Main Line North Philadelphia toward New York City or Exchange Place Glenolden toward Washington, D.C. Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Terminus 52nd Street toward Hawes Avenue Schuylkill Branch Suburban Station Terminus 52nd Street toward Paoli Paoli Line 49th Street toward West Chester West Chester Branch Darby toward Wilmington Wilmington Line Zoological Garden toward Chestnut Hill Chestnut Hill Line Zoological Garden toward Trenton Trenton Line
Thirtieth Street station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania state historical marker
Location	W. River Dr., Market, 30th, and Arch Sts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built	1927-1933[6]
Architect	Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP reference #	78002456[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 7, 1978
Designated PHMC	December 17, 1996[7]
Location
30th Street Station Location within Philadelphia

30th Street Station is an intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is Philadelphia's main railroad station, and is a major stop on Amtrak's Northeast and Keystone corridors. It doubles as a major commuter rail station; it is served by all Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Regional Rail lines, and is the western terminus for New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line. It is also served by several SEPTA city and suburban buses, as well as buses operated by NJ Transit and intercity operators.

Description[edit]

The station is located at 2955 Market Street.^[1] It is located in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood, just across the Schuylkill River from Center City. The building, which first opened in 1933, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Amtrak's code for the station is PHL.^[1] Its IATA Airport Code is ZFV on United because Amtrak's service to Newark Liberty International Airport is codeshared with United Airlines.

30th Street Station is Amtrak's third-busiest station, and the busiest of the 24 stations served in Pennsylvania, serving 4,411,662 passengers in fiscal year 2017. On an average day in fiscal 2013, about 12,000 people boarded or left trains in Philadelphia, nearly twice as many as in the rest of the Pennsylvania stations combined.^[3]

History[edit]

The former West Philadelphia station being removed in 1931 during construction of 30th Street Station

PRR heralds at 30th Street Station

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was headquartered in Philadelphia, acquired tunnel rights from the Schuylkill River to 15th Street from the city of Philadelphia in return for land that the city needed to construct the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This allowed the company to build both Suburban Station and the 30th Street Station,^[8] which replaced Broad Street station as the latter was too small. Broad Street Station was a stub-end terminal in Center City and through trains had to back in and out, and the company wanted a location which would accommodate trains between New York City and Washington. D.C. Broad St. station also handled a large commuter operation, which the new underground Suburban Station was built to handle. (Because of the Depression and World War II, Broad St. station didn't close until 1952.)^[9]

The Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the successor to D.H. Burnham & Company,^[8] designed the structure, originally known as Pennsylvania Station–30th Street in accord with the naming style of other Pennsylvania Stations. Its design was influenced by the Northeast Corridor electrification that allowed trains to pass beneath the station without exposing passengers to soot as steam engines of earlier times had. The station had a number of innovative features, including a pneumatic tube system, an electronic intercom, and a reinforced roof with space for small aircraft to land,^[10] and contained a mortuary, a chapel and more than 3,000 square feet of hospital space.^[8]

Construction began in 1927 and the station opened in 1933, starting with two platform tracks.^[6] The vast waiting room is faced with travertine and the coffered ceiling is painted gold, red and cream. The building's exterior has columned porte-cocheres on the west and east facade, and shows a balance between classical and modern architectural styles.^[8]

Ben Franklin Station[edit]

In 2005, Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trust asked Amtrak to change the name of 30th Street Station to "Ben Franklin Station"^[11] as part of the celebration of Ben Franklin's 300th birthday in January 2006. The cost of replacing signs at the station was estimated at $3 million.

In January, Philadelphia Mayor John Street threw his support behind the name change, but others had mixed reactions to the proposal. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a former mayor of Philadelphia, was lukewarm, while Amtrak officials worried that a "Ben" station could be confused with its other three "Penn" stations.^[12] On January 25, 2006, Pew abandoned the campaign, giving no reason.^[12]

Renaming[edit]

In August 2014, a federal law was passed that will change the name of the station to William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in honor of the late congressman.^[13] At the time, the change was scheduled to occur "in the next few months".^[14]

Present day[edit]

Overview of the lines serving 30th Street

The building is owned by Amtrak and houses many Amtrak corporate offices, although Amtrak is officially headquartered at Union Station in Washington, D.C. The 562,000 ft² (52,000 m²) facility features a cavernous main passenger concourse with ornate Art Deco decor.^{[citation needed]}

Prominently displayed is the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial, which honors Pennsylvania Railroad employees killed in World War II. It consists of a bronze statue of the archangel Michael lifting the body of a dead soldier out of the flames of war, and was sculpted by Walker Hancock in 1950. On the four sides of the base of that sculpture are the 1,307 names of those employees in alphabetical order.^{[citation needed]}

The building was restored in 1991 by Dan Peter Kopple & Associates.^[8] When the station was renovated, updated retail amenities were added. They include several shops, a large food court, car rental facilities, Saxbys Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, and others.^{[citation needed]}

The Amtrak 30th Street Parking Garage was designed by BLT Architects and completed in 2004. This nine-level, double helix garage provides 2,100 parking spaces and glass-enclosed stair tower and elevator to offer views of Philadelphia.^[15] The following year (2005) the Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge was completed and designed with contribution from BLT Architects. The Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge provides direct access for pedestrians from 30th Street Station to the parking garage and Cira Centre; this prevents pedestrians from interacting with heavy traffic from PA 3 and I-76.^[16]

Busiest station[edit]

The station is one of the busiest intercity passenger railroad facilities in the United States. The station also has extensive local and regional passenger volume; it is one of SEPTA's three primary regional rail hubs. It is within walking distance of various attractions in West Philadelphia, notably the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and the University City Science Center, all in University City.^{[citation needed]}

Street access[edit]

Many important highways and streets pass next to or near the station. Vehicles and taxicabs can reach the station from various major routes, including Market Street (PA 3), Interstate 76 (more commonly known as the Schuylkill Expressway in the Philadelphia area), and Interstate 676 (more commonly known as the Vine Street Expressway in the city of Philadelphia).^[10] The John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge is just east of the station.^{[citation needed]}

Rail access[edit]

Trains from SEPTA, Amtrak, and New Jersey Transit serve the station. The three east-west Upper Level platforms serve SEPTA Regional Rail; all 13 Regional Rail lines stop at the station. It is one of three stations that are part of the Center City Commuter Connection. The north-south Lower Level platforms serve Amtrak trains, as well as NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line.^{[citation needed]}

SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line (also known as the "El") and all of SEPTA's Subway-Surface Lines (Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36) stop at the 30th Street subway station, less than half a block, or 0.1 miles (0.16 km), from the southwest entrance to 30th Street Station. A tunnel connecting the underground subway station and 30th Street Station was closed in the 1980s.^[17]

A number of SEPTA's bus routes include stops at the station on their routes.^{[citation needed]}

Cira Centre[edit]

Cira Centre, a 28-story glass-and-steel office tower opened in October 2005, is across Arch Street to the north and is connected by a skyway at the station's mezzanine level next to the upper-level SEPTA Regional Rail platforms. The tower is owned by Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust, was designed by architect César Pelli and BLT Architects,^[15][16] and sits on land leased from Amtrak.^{[citation needed]}

A collection of equipment at Race Street in 2000

Amtrak maintenance facilities[edit]

Amtrak owns and operates the Penn Coach Yard and Race Street Engine House equipment repair and maintenance facility at the 30th Street Station.^{[citation needed]}

Station facilities[edit]

ClubAcela[edit]

The station has one of Amtrak's four ClubAcelas, which are open to Amtrak Guest Rewards members with a ClubAcela pass, Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus and Select Executive members, Acela Express first-class passengers, sleeping car passengers on overnight trains, United Airlines Polaris Business and Polaris First, United Airlines United Club members, and private railcar owners and lessees when the car is being hauled by Amtrak.

Rental cars and car sharing[edit]

Budget Rent a Car, National, Avis, Alamo, and Hertz Rent A Car rent cars at counters in 30th Street Station.

Zipcar and PhillyCarShare vehicles are parked outside 30th Street Station, mostly in reserved parking spaces on the south side of the station or, during construction, in the controlled-access parking lot outside Cira Centre.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Skylight above SEPTA tracks 5 & 6

• 

  The Angel of the Resurrection (1952) by Walker Hancock

• 

  The station's grand concourse, in Art Deco style

• 

  Interior in August 1976

• 

  A bird's eye view (April 1977)

• 

  Another view of the interior

• 

  Corinthian columns of the portico

• 

  Spirit of Transportation (1895) by Karl Bitter

• 

  Upper level platforms

In popular culture[edit]

The station was featured in the 1981 film Blow Out, the 1983 film Trading Places, the 1985 film Witness, the 2000 film Unbreakable, the 2010 video game Heavy Rain, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 2, episode 7), and the 2015 film The Visit. The station also features in the opening credits of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 30th Street Station.

• Amtrak – Stations – 30th Street Station
• New Jersey Transit information for 30th Street Station
• Philadelphia, PA (PHL) - Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Philadelphia (30th Street) Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- TrainWeb)
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-404-A, "Thirtieth Street Station, Power Director Center"
• HAER No. PA-404-B, "Thirtieth Street Station, Load Dispatch Center"
• Google Maps Street View: Schyulkill Avenue (eastern entrance), 30th Street (western entrance), Market Street (southern entrance)