SEPTA Regional Rail - Timeline

Timeline

• 1966: SEPTA begins contracts with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company to subsidize commuter lines.
• 1974–1976: SEPTA orders and takes delivery of Silverliner IV M.U.s
• 1976: Conrail takes over bankrupt railroads and continues providing commuter services for SEPTA.
• 1979: Diesel service between Bethlehem-Allentown is discontinued. R2 Naamans Road Station closes.
• 1980: 52nd Street Station closes. Service extended from Cynwyd to new high-level station at Ivy Ridge.
• July 1, 1981: Diesel service from Fox Chase-Newtown, Quakertown-Bethlehem and Norristown-Pottstown/Reading/Pottsville is discontinued due lack of funding from PennDOT, approved by Governor Dick Thornburgh. R2 Baldwin Station closes. R5 Exton Station opens. Fares increased.
• July 29, 1981: Lansdale-Quakertown diesel shuttle discontinued.
• October 5, 1981: Diesel service between Fox Chase-Newtown resumes as the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line.
• January 1, 1983: SEPTA assumes full operation of commuter lines from Conrail.
• January 14, 1983: Diesel service from Fox Chase-Newtown—SEPTA's last diesel operated line—is discontinued due to failing train equipment; service replaced with busses until electrification is completed (as of 2010, electrification has not occurred). R5 Downingtown Station opens. R8 Westmoreland Station closes.
• March 15, 1983: BLET calls a strike that lasts 108 days.
• July 3, 1983: Strike ends: normal rail service resumes.
• November 6, 1984: Service to Reading Terminal ends in anticipation of the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection six days later.
• November 12, 1984: The Center City Commuter Connection opens.
• November 16, 1984: The Columbia Avenue (now Cecil B. Moore Avenue) bridge near old Temple University Station found to be unsafe, putting all four tracks out of service north of Market East Station.
• December 1984: Temporary bridge opens, allowing service to resume north of Market East Station.
• April 28, 1985: R1 service to Philadelphia International Airport begins.
• May 17, 1986: R6 service between Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge is discontinued.
• September 16, 1986: R3 service between Elwyn-West Chester is discontinued.
• 1990: R5 service extended from Downingtown to Coatesville and Parkesburg.
• 1990: Reading-era "Blueliner" and PRR-era Pioneer III/Silverliner I M.U.s retired.
• March 12, 1992: New Fern Rock Station opens, replacing both the old Fern Rock and Tabor stations.
• 1992: First phase of RailWorks, a project to reconstruct several bridges and viaducts on the former Reading Company's main line in North Philadelphia, shuts down the railroad between Market East and Fern Rock stations for six months.
• 1992-1996: Fellwick, Fishers, Fulmor, and Shawmont Stations close.
• May 2, 1993: Second and last phase of Railworks begins.
• September 9, 1993: Second and last phase of Railworks ends.
• November 10, 1996: R5 service to Parkesburg is truncated to Downingtown.
• March 21, 1997: Parking added to Exton Station, adding 116 spaces at a cost of $300,000.
• 1997: Eastwick Station opens on the R1 Airport line.
• 2002: SEPTA announces the planned building of 104 new "Silverliner V" m.u. cars to replace aging Budd-built "Silverliner II" and St. Louis Company-built "Silverliner III" cars. New cars, identical to the GE-built "Silverliner IV" cars, will have wider seats and a center-opening door for easier boarding or departing at high-level platform stations in Center City.
• 2003: R2 Lamokin and R7 Wissinoming stations close.
• 2006: SEPTA approves contract for Hyundai Rotem to build 104 new "Silverliner V" cars. SEPTA also started negotiations with Wawa Food Markets to purchase land in Wawa, Pennsylvania to build a new Park-and-Ride facility for a planned restoration of service between Elwyn and Wawa on Media/Elwyn Line.
• July 2008: single track in Abington Township section of former Fox Chase-Newtown line is removed for Pennypack Trail Extension.
• October 2008: double track between Coopersburg and Hellertown section of former Quakertown-Bethlehem line is dismantled for a trail.
• June 2009: double track between Cynwyd and Pencoyd Viaduct section of former Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge line is dismantled for Cynwyd Heritage Trail.
• February 2010: First three Silverliner V cars arrive in Philadelphia, as well as nine shells to be assembled at the Hyundai Rotem plant.
• June 2010: double track between Pencoyd Viaduct and high-level Ivy Ridge Station along former Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge line is dismantled for Ivy Ridge Trail.
• July 25, 2010: R-numbering system is dropped and each branch is named after its primary termini.
• October 29, 2010: First set of Silverliner V cars begin revenue service, following a press event at Suburban Station.