SEPTA Route 11

Route 11 (T4)
Route 11 (T4)
	SEPTA's Route #11 line bound for Darby
Overview
Termini	Darby (Transportation Center); Center City (13th–Market);
Stations	8 underground stations, 1 surface level station, and 40 street-level stops
Service
System	SEPTA Metro
Depot(s)	Elmwood Carhouse
Daily ridership	13,480 (avg weekday 2019)
History
Opened	1858
Technical
Line length	13.3 mi (21.4 km)[citation needed]
Track gauge	5 ft 2 1⁄4 in (1,581 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	SEPTA Main Line
	to Glenside
	NEC/Keystone Corridor
	32nd Street Tunnel
	Woodland & 42nd
	Diversion tracks to 40th & Market
	Woodland & 58th
	Non-Revenue Track to Chester Ave.
	Woodland & 60th
	CSX Philadelphia Subdivision
	Woodland & Island
	Non-Revenue Track to Elmwood Ave.
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

Route 11, also known as the Woodland Avenue Line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) that connects the 13th Street station in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Darby Transportation Center in Darby, Pennsylvania. It is one of five lines that are part of the subway–surface trolley system. Sitting at an average of 13,580 riders per weekday in 2019, it is the most used subway-surface trolley route, even though it lacks overnight service. This route will be rebranded as the T4 as part of the transition to SEPTA Metro.

Route description

Starting from its eastern end at 13th Street, Route 11 runs in a tunnel under Market Street. It stops at underground stations at 15th Street, 19th Street, 22nd Street, 30th Street, and 33rd Street. From 15th to 30th Streets, it runs on the outer tracks in the same tunnel as SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line.

Passengers may transfer free of charge to the Market–Frankford Line at 13th, 15th, and 30th Streets and to the Broad Street Line at 15th Street. Connections to the SEPTA Regional Rail are also available. Underground passageways connect the 13th and 15th Street Stations to Jefferson Station and Suburban Station.

Route 11 surfaces at the 40th Street Portal near 40th Street and Baltimore Avenue (US 13), and then runs southwest along Woodland Avenue, along with Route 36 trolleys, and then turns down 49th Street where the Route 10 diversion line ends. Route 11 continues its run along Woodland Avenue, and is the most consistent of the five subway–surface lines when it comes to taking a straight route. The line runs parallel to the north side of the Wilmington/Newark Line and crosses a bridge over CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision freight line, at 60th Street.

At the intersection of Island Road and the Cobbs Creek Parkway, an unnamed line runs southward toward Elmwood Depot on the corner of Elmwood Avenue, which is a major turning point for the Route 36 line. The northwest corner is also the home of the historic Blue Bell Inn^[2] Route 11 moves northwest from Woodland Avenue to Main Street as it crosses the Cobbs Creek and enters Darby. Here, Route 11 crosses the Philadelphia Subdivision again, but at an at-grade crossing along with 6th Street.^[3] The road and line move to the west shortly, only to turn back northwest and finally north to 9th Street at the Darby Transportation Center. Some Route 13 trolleys also terminate at the station, but the other public transportation consists of SEPTA Suburban Transit Division buses.

History

Route 11 was established as the West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company in Darby on December 24, 1858, and ran as horsecars from 9th and Main Streets in Darby to 49th Street and Woodland Avenue in West Philadelphia. It was originally a segregated streetcar that required African-Americans to ride on platforms along with the driver, until abolitionist William Still challenged that rule between 1859 and 1867.^[4] In 1896, the line was extended as far east as Front Street via Chestnut and Walnut Streets, and was integrated into the subway–surface trolley system by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company on December 15, 1906.^[5]

The at-grade crossing along Main Street at the intersection of Sixth Street in Darby^[6] was the site of the Darby Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station. B&O had passenger service into Philadelphia until 1958.^[7]

On December 9, 2021, a Route 11 trolley collided with a CSX Transportation freight train operating on the Philadelphia Subdivision at the at-grade crossing between the two lines near the intersection of Main Street and Sixth Street in Darby. Seven people on the trolley were injured, and the front windshield was smashed.^[8] All of the people injured in the crash were treated and released from the hospital on the same day.^[9] This is reportedly the only intersection in the nation where an active freight rail line crosses a fixed active rail transit line.^[10]

In 2021, SEPTA proposed rebranding their rail transit service as "SEPTA Metro", in order to make the system easier to navigate. Under this proposal, the subway–surface lines will be rebranded as the "T" lines with a green color and numeric suffixes for each service, and Route 11 would be renamed "T4 Woodland Avenue."^[11]^[12] SEPTA described that "most comments were positive" in the public comment period for this rebranding project.^[13]

Stations and stops

All are in either the City of Philadelphia or the Borough of Darby.

Neighborhood / location	Station or stop	Connections	Notes
Market East	13th Street	SEPTA Metro: Market–Frankford Line, Route 10, Route 34, Route 13, Route 11, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 27, 31, 32	Closed between 12:30–5:00am
Penn Center	15th Street	SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines (at Suburban) SEPTA Metro: Broad Street Line (at City Hall), Market–Frankford Line, Route 10, Route 34, Route 13, Route 11, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus:4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125	Late night terminus
Penn Center	19th Street	SEPTA Metro: Route 10, Route 34, Route 13, Route 11, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 17, 31, 38, 44, 48, 62, 78 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124
Center City West	22nd Street	SEPTA Metro: Route 10, Route 34, Route 13, Route 11, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 7, 31, 44, 62 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125	Replaced 24th Street station
University City	Drexel Station at 30th Street	Amtrak (at 30th Street) NJ Transit: ACL Atlantic City Line (at 30th Street) SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines (at 30th Street) SEPTA Metro: Market–Frankford Line, Route 10, Route 34, Route 13, Route 11, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 31, 49, LUCY	No direct passage to 30th Street Station
	33rd Street	SEPTA Metro: Route 10, Route 34, Route 13, Route 11, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 30, 31, 49, LUCY	Serves Drexel University
	36th Street	SEPTA Metro: Route 34, Route 13, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 21	Serves University of Pennsylvania
	37th Street	SEPTA Metro: Route 34, Route 13, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 40, 42, LUCY	Serves University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Spruce Hill	40th Street Portal	SEPTA Metro: Route 34, Route 13, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 30, 40, 42, LUCY	End of Route 34 concurrency
	Chester & Woodland	SEPTA Metro: Route 13, Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 30	End of Route 13 concurrency
	41st & Woodland (EB)	SEPTA Metro: Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 30
	42nd & Woodland	SEPTA Metro: Route 36
	43rd & Woodland (WB) 45th & Woodland (EB)	SEPTA Metro: Route 36
Squirrel Hill	46th & Woodland	SEPTA Metro: Route 36
Squirrel Hill	47th & Woodland (EB)	SEPTA Metro: Route 36
Kingsessing	48th & Woodland	SEPTA Metro: Route 36
	49th & Woodland	SEPTA Metro: Route 36 SEPTA City Bus: 12, 52, 64	End of Route 36 concurrency
	50th & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: 12, 52
	51st & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: 52
	52nd & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: 52
	53rd & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: 52
	54th & Woodland
	55th & Woodland
	56th & Woodland
	57th & Woodland
	58th & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: G
Elmwood	60th & Woodland
	61st & Woodland
	62nd & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: G
	63rd & Woodland
	64th & Woodland
	65th & Woodland	SEPTA Suburban Bus: 108
	66th & Woodland
	67th & Woodland
	68th & Woodland
	69th & Woodland
	70th & Woodland
	71st & Woodland
	72nd & Woodland
	Island & Woodland	SEPTA City Bus: 68
Philadelphia–Darby line
Darby	Front & Main
	2nd & Main
	3rd & Main
	4th & Main
	5th & Main
	6th & Main
	Summit & Main
	Mill & Main (EB)
	Powell & Main (WB)
	Darby T.C.	SEPTA Metro: Route 13 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 113, 114, 115	Limited Route 13 service