PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- SEPTA will close the trolley tunnel into Center City for overnight work beginning Monday night.
SEPTA’s Andrew Busch said all the trolley routes that use the tunnel for access to and from center city will be affected.
“That impacts the trolley routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36,” he said.
Busch said a recent survey found an average of 140 people are riding the trolleys during the overnight period. Now, they’ll have to board buses for part of that trip.
“Trolleys will still run through the neighborhoods in West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia,” he explained. “At 40th Street Station, folks will transfer to a Market-Frankford Night Owl bus for travel to and from Center City.”
Busch said SEPTA crews plan to do track and wire work inside the tunnel.
“We’re also going to do deep cleanings at the stations like we’ve done on the subway lines,” he said.
Busch said the work will take place between midnight and 5 a.m., seven days a week. Normal trolley service, however, will resume each day in time for the morning rush.
"We would expect that people should probably plan for this to be in place for the winter," Busch added.