15th Street station (SEPTA)

15th Street
SEPTA multimodal transportation center
Eastbound train arriving at 15th Street on the Market-Frankford Line.
Location	Fifteenth & Market Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°57′10″N 75°09′56″W / 39.952804°N 75.165489°W / 39.952804; -75.165489Coordinates: 39°57′10″N 75°09′56″W / 39.952804°N 75.165489°W / 39.952804; -75.165489
Owned by	City of Philadelphia, leased to SEPTA
Line(s)	Market–Frankford Line   SEPTA Trolley all routes
Platforms	2 side platform (rapid transit), 2 side platforms (trams)
Tracks	4 (2 rapid transit, 2 tram)
Connections	Broad Street Line at City Hall SEPTA Regional Rail (at Suburban Station) SEPTA City Bus: 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44 48, 121
Construction
Structure type	Underground
History
Opened	1907
Electrified	700 volts DC(MFL) Overhead lines(SST)
Services
Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station 30th Street toward 69th Street Market–Frankford Line 13th Street toward Frankford 19th Street toward 63rd & Malvern SEPTA Trolley Route 10 13th Street Terminus 19th Street toward Darby SEPTA Trolley Route 11 SEPTA Trolley Route 13 19th Street toward 61st Street SEPTA Trolley Route 34 19th Street toward 80th Street-Eastwick SEPTA Trolley Route 36   Free transfer   Walnut–Locust toward AT&T Station Broad Street Line Local Transfer at: City Hall Race–Vine toward Fern Rock Walnut–Locust Terminus Broad Street Line Express Transfer at: City Hall

15th Street is a rapid transit station on the SEPTA Market–Frankford Line and all routes of the Subway–Surface trolley lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A free interchange is available between all of the rapid transit lines here, including the Broad Street Line at City Hall, which is connected to 15th Street by an underground passage. The station is the last station of the Market–Frankford Line heading towards 69th Street Terminal to be located in Center City, the next station is on the western banks of the Schuylkill River at 30th Street.

The station is attached by underground pedestrian walkways to SEPTA Regional Rail's Suburban Station, the Broad Street Line's Walnut–Locust Station, the PATCO Speedline's 12–13th & Locust and 15–16th & Locust Stations; as well as the Market–Frankford Line's own 13th Street, 11th Street, and 8th Street Stations. However, no free interchange is available to any of these stations.

Riders to the station will find themselves in the very heart of Center City. City Hall lies across the street from the station, and such attractions as Love Park, the Penn Center area, and the Comcast Center are within immediate walking distance.

The Subway–Surface Lines stop at two individual stations within this complex. Inbound trolleys stop at 15th Street and outbound trolleys at Dilworth Plaza across the Market–Frankford Line platforms.

Station layout

ADA Reconstruction

Dating back to 1907, 15th Street was an original station along the Market-Frankford Line, and was not designed for ADA accessibility. In 2003, SEPTA rebuilt the station escalators, for which a lawsuit was filed by the Disabled in Action of Pennsylvania, citing that renovating one critical component would require the rest of the station complex (Including City Hall on the BSL) to be renovated, per building code requirements. As such, SEPTA would be required to make the station ADA accessible.^[1] SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia had been proposing a US $100,000,000 refurbishment of City Hall Station,^[2] which included structural repairs, improvements in lighting and ventilation, aesthetic improvements, as well as ADA improvements. However, the project's progression had stalled due to lack of funds.^[3] In November 2011, the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation awarded construction contracts totaling $50 million for the restoration of the Dilworth Plaza above the station, following the eviction of the Occupy Philly protesters occupying the area; the contract includes the accessibility improvements for the station.^[4] SEPTA awarded construction contracts for the improvements in January 2012.^[5] The project currently consists of a restoration of the plaza, creating a "gateway" to the SEPTA transit station and installing elevators connecting to the street and Market-Frankford platforms at 15th. The contract does not include any accessibility for the disabled to the Broad Street Line platforms, which are outside the plaza boundaries. The total cost of the project has risen to $55 million, with most of the money coming from a federal grant, with additional contributions by the City of Philadelphia ($5 million), and non-profit organizations including the William Penn Foundation. The project, originally to have been completed July 2014, had been delayed due to the necessity to deal with stairways, duct banks and pipes construction crews encountered, that did not appear in any blueprints.^[6] The renovated Dilworth Plaza opened on September 4, 2014.^[7] Further accessibility improvements for 15th Street and renovation of the City Hall station are in the early design stages and will be performed as funding becomes available.^[8]

References

1. ↑ http://planphilly.com/septa-riders-getting-city-hall-elevators-down-el
2. ↑ "SEPTA (July 2005) SEPTA Capital Improvements in the City of Philadelphia. p. 11." (PDF).  (1.96 MiB)
3. ↑ "Philadelphia projects waiting for Harrisburg dollars"
4. ↑ http://centercityphila.org/life/dilworth_plaza.php
5. ↑ "SEPTA awards contracts for City Hall improvements," by Anthony Campisi (PlanPhilly Thursday, January 26, 2012)
6. ↑ "Dilworth Plaza remake won't be finished until Labor Day". Philadelphia Inquirer. December 4, 2013. 
7. ↑ http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140905_Dilworth_Park_officially_opens.html
8. ↑ http://septa.org/construction/projects/dilworth/2014-02-20.html

External links

• SEPTA - 15th Street MFL & Trolley Station
• 15th Street Market Street Subway (WorldNYCSubway.org)
• 15th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View