PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Starting Monday, Jan. 5, midday Regional Rail riders on the Fox Chase Line will face disrupted service for the next three months to accommodate track work.
Midday work is expected to continue on weekdays from now until April 3. SEPTA is replacing old track sections with continuously welded rail — which will require riders to get off trains and onto shuttle buses.
The shuttle buses will replace rail service on weekdays between the Fox Chase and Wayne Junction stations from approximately 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The new track should make for a smoother ride with less maintenance, said Lex Powers, SEPTA’s chief of customer experience.
“It is more efficient and it is more reliable,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve been undertaking throughout the system in chunks, and now is the time to start on the Fox Chase Line.”
Powers said riding the shuttle buses along the 6-mile stretch will add about 28 minutes to a normal ride, but riders may choose to instead take the Route 18 bus to the Broad Street Line.
“Because there are so many alternate options in that area, there are still very quick ways to get where you’re going if you choose a different way in,” he said.
The track work is only being done on weekdays, so trains will run along the full Fox Chase Line on weekends.