PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA’s annual summertime trolley maintenance blitz will be longer than usual this year.
From July 11 through Aug. 11, no trolleys will run through the Center City tunnel. Usually, the shutdown is about two weeks long.
“We’re going longer,” said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch. “This year is going to be a month.”
SEPTA is trying to cram two years’ worth of work into this year’s blitz so the transit agency doesn’t have to close the tunnel again in 2026.
“Next summer, we’re hosting the FIFA World Cup, and we can’t have a shutdown of the tunnel in the middle of the FIFA World Cup,” Busch explained. In addition to the World Cup, Philadelphia is hosting many semiquincentennial events.
While crews deep-clean, replace worn track, and maintain overhead wires, shuttle buses will replace trolleys between 40th Street and Center City.
Maps and more information can be found here.