PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA will run express service on the Broad Street Line for Thursday night’s Eagles season opener, thanks to a last-minute $80,000 sponsorship from FanDuel.
Sports express trains had been cut in SEPTA’s first round of service reductions, raising fears of gridlock before the game and stranded fans afterward. FanDuel’s sponsorship now covers ten extra express trains and six local trains, including free rides home for fans.
SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said the restored service will transport 15,000–17,000 fans to and from the game, and should be enough to clear the crowd in the 70 minutes after the game.
"The great thing about this is that we have the flexibility to continue operating after that if we need to. Whereas before this, we were looking at a hard out of 12:15 a.m.," Busch said.
Busch said the sponsorship deal is only in place for the Eagles opener, and that, for now, the other SEPTA service cuts remain.
Coincidentally, Judge Sierra Thomas-Street, who's hearing a court challenge to the SEPTA cuts, ordered SEPTA to run express service to the Eagles opener, service SEPTA was planning to restore anyway under the FanDuel sponsorship.
SEPTA urges fans to head to NRG Station immediately after the game to ensure they can catch a train home. Riders can visit SEPTA's website for more details.