PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It doesn't appear that a long-awaited underground connection between SEPTA’s Drexel Station and Amtrak’s rail lines at 30th Street Station is happening anytime soon.
A tunnel joining SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line and Center City trolleys with the Amtrak station across the street was closed in the 1980s for safety reasons. Since then, and still to this day, travelers must exit either station, go outside, and cross the street to transfer to the other station.
As SEPTA cut the ribbon on its refurbished and renamed Drexel Station at 30th Street on Monday, general manager Leslie Richards said SEPTA had done its part to reopen the tunnel.
"The project also future-proofed the station by extending elevator infrastructure to a lower level that one day, we hope — and it will — connect to the restored tunnel from Amtrak’s William H. Gray III 30th Street Station,” Richards said.
Responding to applause, she said, "Clap loud enough for Amtrak to hear you.”
Then, addressing Amtrak’s CEO, she said, “Stephen Gardner, if you’re in your office, build that tunnel!”
Amtrak is in the midst of a long-term $550 million renovation at 30th Street Station, but the tunnel isn't part of the project. Two years ago, Amtrak applied for a competitive Federal Railroad Administration CRISI grant to pay for designing a rebuilt tunnel, but its application wasn't selected.
There's no word yet as to whether Amtrak plans to apply for the next round of grants. The future of any tunnel project remains unclear.