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West Trenton Line
Langhorne station on the West Trenton Line
Overview
Service type	SEPTA Regional Rail commuter service
Current operator	SEPTA
Daily ridership	7,253 (FY 2024)
Route
Termini	Penn Medicine Station 30th Street Station (weekends and major holidays) West Trenton
Stops	22
Lines used	Neshaminy Line SEPTA Main Line West Chester Branch
Technical
Rolling stock	Electric multiple units
Electrification	Overhead line,12 kV 25 Hz AC
Route map Show interactive map Legend toNewark toWawa Station toAirport 1.8 mi 2.9 km Penn Medicine Station 0.9 mi 1.4 km 30th Street Station 0 mi 0 km Suburban Station 0.5 mi 0.8 km Jefferson Station Reading Terminal closed Spring Garden Street closed 2.1 mi 3.4 km Temple University Zone  C  1 toNorristown–Elm Street 5.1 mi 8.2 km Wayne Junction Bypassed toChestnut Hill East toFox Chase Fern Rock Zone  1  2 8.4 mi 13.5 km Melrose Park Weekdays 9.2 mi 14.8 km Elkins Park Weekdays Zone  2  3 10.8 mi 17.4 km Jenkintown–Wyncote Main Line toGlenside 12.0 mi 19.3 km Noble 12.8 mi 20.6 km Rydal 13.8 mi 22.2 km Meadowbrook 15.1 mi 24.3 km Bethayres 16.4 mi 26.4 km Philmont 17.7 mi 28.5 km Forest Hills 18.2 mi 29.3 km Somerton 19.9 mi 32 km Trevose 21.1 mi 34 km Neshaminy Falls Zone  3  4 23.9 mi 38.5 km Langhorne Fairless Junction closed 26.4 mi 42.5 km Woodbourne Roelofs closed 30.8 mi 49.6 km Yardley Pennsylvania New Jersey Zone  4  NJ 32.5 mi 52.3 km West Trenton 11.1 mi 17.9 km service ended in 1982 11.1 mi 17.9 km service ended in 1982 Pennington closed Hopewell closed Belle Mead closed Hillsborough closed NJ TransitRaritan Valley Line toHigh Bridge Bound Brook Northeast Corridor Newark Penn Northeast Corridor This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

TheWest Trenton Line is aSEPTA Regional Rail service connectingCenter City Philadelphia to theWest Trenton section ofEwing Township, New Jersey.

The West Trenton Line connectsCenter City Philadelphia with the West Trenton section ofEwing, New Jersey. The line splits from theSEPTA Main Line atJenkintown, running northeast on theNeshaminy Line. AtBethayres, it crosses thePennypack Trail that runs along the formerPhiladelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad, which once connected with theFox Chase Line. AtOakford, the formerNew York Short Line Railroad, once part of the Reading's main line to West Trenton and Jersey City and currentlyCSX'sTrenton Subdivision, merges. North of Oakford, the West Trenton Line runs parallel to CSX's Trenton Subdivision. TheWest Trenton Railroad Bridge, a concretearch bridge, crosses theDelaware River to the final stop at West Trenton.

Like all of theReading Company's commuter lines, the West Trenton Line waselectrified in the early 1930s and has a mix of at-grade and grade separated crossings. Electrified service to West Trenton was opened on July 26, 1931. The RDG planned to also electrify tracks between West Trenton and theCNJ Terminal inJersey City for long-distance service, but had to drop plans for electrification outside of the commuter service area due to economic setbacks as a result of theGreat Depression.

The line north of the split at Jenkintown was originally built as theNational Railway project, opened on May 1, 1876, to provide an alternate to theUnited New Jersey Railroad and Canal Companies'monopoly over Philadelphia-New York City travel. From Jenkintown to the Delaware River it was built by theNorth Pennsylvania Railroad as a branch, while theNew Jersey section was built by theDelaware and Bound Brook Railroad, merging with theCentral Railroad of New Jersey atBound Brook. In addition to the Reading Company, which leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1879, theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad also used the line for passenger and freight service to New York City, including its famedRoyal Blue service. In 1976 the Reading merged intoConrail, and in 1983 SEPTA took over operations.

Prior to 1981, limited service continued north toNewark, New Jersey (Jersey City prior to theAldene Plan of the 1960s), usingBudd Company-builtDiesel multiple units. This service was the last remains of the Reading'sCrusader service, which began in 1937 using streamlined steam locomotives and passenger cars. SEPTA ended service beyond West Trenton on August 1, 1981; connecting NJT diesel service lasted until December 1982.^[1][2] NJT has since considered service resumption on theirWest Trenton Line.^[3]

Beginning in 1984 the route was designatedR1 West Trenton as part of SEPTA'sdiametrical reorganization of its lines. West Trenton Line trains operated through the city center to theAirport Line on the ex-Pennsylvania side of the system.^[4] In later years this behavior changed; the line was designatedR3 West Trenton and trains continued on to theMedia/Elwyn Line on weekdays and the Airport Line on weekends.^[5] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.^[6] As of 2022^[update], most West Trenton Line trains terminate at 30th Street Station on weekdays, while most evening trains operate to Malvern or Thorndale on thePaoli/Thorndale Line. Most weekend trains operate to Chestnut Hill West on theChestnut Hill West Line.^[7]

On April 9, 2020, service on the line was suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,^[8] though stations between Center City andJenkintown–Wyncote were still being served by other rail services. Service resumed on June 15, 2020.^[9]

The West Trenton Line includes the following stations north of theCenter City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with a gray background are closed. The train expresses from Bethayres to Temple University inbound on some trains in the morning and expresses outbound from Temple University to Bethayres on some trains in the evening.^[7]

State	Zone	Location	Station	Miles (km) from Center City	Date opened	Connections / notes
PA	C	Temple University	Temple University	2.1 (3.4)		SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines except theCynwyd Line SEPTA City Bus:3,23,47
	1	Olney-Oak Lane	Logan			Discontinued October 4, 1992[10]
			Tabor
			Fern Rock Transit Center	7.3 (11.7)		SEPTA Regional Rail: SEPTA Metro: SEPTA City Bus:4,28,57,70
	2	Melrose Park	Melrose Park	8.4 (13.5)		SEPTA Regional Rail:
		Elkins Park	Elkins Park	9.2 (14.8)	May 14, 1899[11]	SEPTA Regional Rail: SEPTA City Bus:28
	3	Jenkintown	Jenkintown–Wyncote	10.8 (17.4)		SEPTA Regional Rail: SEPTA City Bus:77
		Noble	Noble	12.0 (19.3)		SEPTA City Bus:55
		Rydal	Rydal	12.8 (20.6)
		Abington	Meadowbrook	13.8 (22.2)
		Bethayres	Bethayres	15.1 (24.3)		SEPTA City Bus:24,88
		Huntingdon Valley	Philmont	16.4 (26.4)
		Somerton, Philadelphia	Forest Hills	17.7 (28.5)		SEPTA City Bus:84
			Somerton	18.2 (29.3)		SEPTA City Bus:58,84
		Bensalem Twp.	Trevose	19.9 (32.0)
			Neshaminy Falls	21.1 (34.0)		SEPTA City Bus:58
		Penndel	Parkland			Closed March 1978[12]
	4	Langhorne	Langhorne	23.9 (38.5)		SEPTA City Bus:14 SEPTA Suburban Bus:130
		Middletown Twp.
			Fairless Junction			Closed March 1978[12]
			Woodbourne	26.4 (42.5)
		Yardley	Yardley	30.8 (49.6)
NJ	NJ	West Trenton	West Trenton	32.5 (52.3)		NJ Transit Bus:608

Between FY 2013–FY 2019 yearly ridership on the West Trenton Line held steady at 3.3–3.5 million, except for a dip to 3 million in FY 2018, before collapsing during theCOVID-19 pandemic.^{[note 1][14]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWest Trenton Line (SEPTA).

• SEPTA – West Trenton Line schedule
• The Blue Comet - Reading Terminal to West Trenton, New Jersey

• SEPTA Regional Rail

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