Post Date: 09/14/2017 4:31 PM

SEPTA adds round-trip trains on weekday mornings and Saturday nights

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki is pleased to share the news that Wilmington now has additional round-trip SEPTA trains on weekday mornings and Saturday nights. The schedule change went into effect Sunday, September 10, and was first announced by SEPTA last week. The Mayor today thanked Governor Carney and DART Executive Director John Sisson for their efforts to improve our area’s public transit options.

"Better train connectivity is something our residents want, our small and big businesses want, and our visitors want,” said Mayor Purzycki. “Improving train service in Wilmington broadens access to opportunity for residents while potentially saving riders hours each day on their commutes and thousands of dollars each year in transportation costs.”

The weekday morning train leaves Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station at 8:09 a.m. and arrives in Wilmington at 9:02 a.m.; the return train leaves Wilmington at 9:50 a.m. and arrives at 30th Street Station at 10:38 a.m. The Saturday night train leaves Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station at 10:32 p.m. and arrives in Wilmington at 11:17 p.m.; it leaves Wilmington at 11:34 p.m., arriving at 30th Street Station at 12:21 a.m.

In addition, an earlier weekday morning train from Wilmington to Philadelphia now has five fewer stops, cutting travel time from 51 to 45 minutes. This train now leaves Wilmington at 9:23 a.m. and arrives at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station at 10:08 a.m.

“These off-peak train service improvements can be life-changing for many people who work non-traditional schedules that may include weekend or odd shifts, frequent overtime, flexible schedules, part-time or temporary jobs,” continued Mayor Purzycki.

While much of the work force consists of people with traditional 9 to 5 schedules, the nationwide share of workers with non-traditional schedules has more than doubled between 1985 and 2004, the most recent year for which Bureau of Labor Statistics data is available, and now represents between one-quarter and one-third of the total work force.

SEPTA operates train service in Delaware through a contract with Delaware Transit Corporation (DART). Since 2014, the transit authorities have improved train service in Wilmington by adding a total of three weekday round-trip trains, one Saturday night round-trip train, and one weekday one-way express, while converting two weekday local trains to express trains. More than 2,000 SEPTA riders use Wilmington Train Station (Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Station) each day, an increase of 23% since 2014.

To view SEPTA’s new Wilmington line schedule, visit the following link:

https://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/pdf/nwk.pdf

Media Contact:

John Rago

Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Communications

Office of Mayor Michael S. Purzycki

Mobile: (302) 420-7928

Email: jrago@WilmingtonDE.gov