40th Street station (Market–Frankford Line)

40th Street station is an underground station on the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, located the intersection of 40th Street and Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the line between the Spruce Hill and Powelton Village neighborhoods in the University City District of West Philadelphia.[1] The station serves a major shopping corridor of West Philadelphia on 40th Street, as well as the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, which lies three blocks south of the station.

40th Street
Location40th & Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39.9570°N 75.2020°W / 39.9570; -75.2020
Owned bySoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsSEPTA trolleys: 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 (diverted service only)
SEPTA City Bus: 30, 40, LUCY
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedNovember 6, 1955[1]
RebuiltOctober 21, 2017[2]
Electrified700 volts DC third rail
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station
46th Street
toward 69th Street
 Market–Frankford Line 34th Street
toward Frankford
41st & Lancaster
toward 63rd & Malvern
 Route 10
diverted service
 Terminus
42nd & Woodland
toward Darby
 Route 11
diverted service
42nd & Chester
toward Yeadon Loop or Darby
 Route 13
diverted service
42nd & Baltimore
toward 61st & Baltimore
 Route 34
diverted service
42nd & Woodland
toward 80th Street–Eastwick
 Route 36
diverted service
Former services
Preceding station Philadelphia Transportation Company Following station
46th Street
toward 69th Street
 Market Elevated 36th Street
Closed 1955
toward Frankford
34th Street
toward Frankford

The station is served by SEPTA City Bus routes 30, 40 and LUCY. The station also serves as the inbound terminal for the SEPTA subway-surface trolley lines when services are diverted from the Market Street tunnels –– on Mondays from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. and during any other unforeseen circumstances.[3] All five trolley routes terminate at the intersection 40th Street and Market Street, just outside entrances to the Market–Frankford platforms.[4]

History
Newly-designed station entrance built in 2017

40th Street station was opened on November 6, 1955 by the Philadelphia Transportation Company,[1] built to replace the elevated station that opened in 1907 as part of Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company's (PRT) original Market Street subway–elevated line from 69th Street to 15th Street, which was elevated west of 23rd Street.[5][6]

The PRT announced a project to bury the elevated tracks between 23rd to 46th streets in the 1920s.[7] The tunnel from 23rd to 32nd streets was completed by 1933, but construction on the remaining segment was put on hiatus due to the Great Depression and World War II.[7] The PRT went bankrupt in 1939 and was reorganized as the PTC,[8] which began building the rest of the tunnel in 1947.[7]

The station was renovated in 2017, bringing it to ADA accessibility requirements. Two elevators were installed, one for each platform, each of the four entrance stairwells were covered with artistic screens, and underground lighting and tiles were replaced. The project was completed on October 21, 2017, at a total cost of $10.9 million.[2]

Station layout

The station has two side platforms with separate fare control on either side. West of the station, the tracks climb out of a portal near 44th Street and run west as an elevated line.

G Street level Entrance/exit, buses
P
Platform level		 Side platform with fare control 
Westbound ←      Market–Frankford Line toward 69th Street (46th Street)
Eastbound →      Market–Frankford Line toward Frankford (34th Street) →
Side platform with fare control 
  • New stairwell tile installed in 2017
  • Underground platform
  • Old 40th Street station signage from 2007
  • Diverted trolley at surface level

References
  1. Cox, Harold E. (1967). May, Jack (ed.). The Road from Upper Darby. The Story of the Market Street Subway-Elevated. New York, NY: Electric Railroaders' Association. p. 32. OCLC 54770701.
  2. "40th Street Station". SEPTA. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  3. "Route 10, 11, 13, 15, 34 & 36 Trolley Line Map". SEPTA. 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  4. Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1.
  5. Springirth, Kenneth C. (2016). Philadelphia Electrified Rail Lines In Color. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. ISBN 978-1-5824-8498-3.
  6. John Hepp (2013). "Subways and Elevated Lines". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  7. John L. Puckett. "Putting the Market Street Elevated Underground". West Philadelphia Collaborative History. University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  8. "Studio 34's Eponymous Trolley, or, A Short History of Route 34". Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2008-12-20.

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