The Fox Chase Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia with Fox Chase . It uses the Fox Chase Branch , which branches off from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirely within the city of Philadelphia. The line is fully grade-separated , except for one grade crossing on Oxford Avenue.
14-801: Originally known as the Fox Chase/Newtown Branch , service was truncated in January 1983 from Newtown to its current terminus in Philadelphia at Fox Chase . Plans to restore service beyond Fox Chase remained on SEPTA's Capital Program until 2009. The rail bed between Fox Chase and Southampton has been converted to rail trail usage. Most of what is now the Fox Chase Branch was built by the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad between 1876 and 1878. Initially, it
28-554: A century later, a similar incident occurred involving a car, tank truck, and train. Between 1984 and 2010 the route was designated R8 Fox Chase as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Fox Chase trains operated through the city center to the Chestnut Hill West Line . Plans had called for the Fox Chase Line to be paired with a Bryn Mawr local and designated R4 , but this depended on
42-918: A never-built connection from the Chestnut Hill West Line to the ex-Reading near Wayne Junction. As of 2022, most Fox Chase Line trains continue through Center City to the Airport Line on weekdays and the Media/Wawa Line on weekends. Under the Reading Company Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) operated through from the Reading Terminal in downtown Philadelphia to Newtown. The Reading extended electrification to Fox Chase in 1966; limited diesel shuttles from Fox Chase to Newtown continued. SEPTA suspended these shuttles on July 1, 1981, as part of
56-458: A possible resumption, SEPTA performed extensive track upgrades in 1984. Street crossings in Newtown and Southampton received brand new welded rail, which were secured using sturdy Pandrol clips vs. traditional rail spikes . Though not promoted, this work was done in order to comply with a federal grant. By March 1985, SEPTA gave into political pressure and made a concerted effort to integrate
70-712: A systemwide discontinuation of non-electrified service. The shuttles returned on October 5 as the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line . The operation of the line was troubled: the RDCs were in poor mechanical condition, SEPTA's decision to use transit division employees from the Broad Street Subway caused labor issues, and ridership was low. SEPTA suspended service again on January 18, 1983. Since 1983, there has been interest from Bucks County passengers in resuming service to Newtown. In anticipation of
84-580: The COVID-19 pandemic : Newtown (SEPTA station) Newtown Station is a defunct railroad station in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania . Built by the Reading Railroad , it later served SEPTA Regional Rail 's Fox Chase/Newtown Line . SEPTA closed the station in 1983. Reading Railroad built the station in 1873 as the terminus of its line. In the railroad's original plans, the line
98-564: The Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line. SEPTA insisted on utilizing transit operators from the Broad Street Subway as a cost-saving factor, while Conrail requested that railroad engineers run the service. This was a result of a labor dispute that began when SEPTA inherited approximately 1,700 displaced employees from Conrail . When a federal court ruled that SEPTA had to use Conrail employees in order to offer job assurance, SEPTA cancelled Fox Chase-Newtown trains. Service in
112-518: The diesel-only territory north of Fox Chase was cancelled at that time, and the Newtown station still appears in publicly posted tariffs . Although rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus , patronage remained light, and the Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus service ended in 1999. The Newtown station shelter was torn down in 2004. Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania Too Many Requests If you report this error to
126-561: The following station stops after leaving the Center City Commuter Connection . Stations indicated in gray background are closed. Although SEPTA suspended service to all stations north of Fox Chase in 1983 and has since converted most of the northern portion of the line to a rail trail, it continues to list those stations in its public tariff. Yearly ridership on the Fox Chase Line between FY 2013–FY 2019 remained steady around 1.2-1.4 million before collapsing during
140-707: The line within Montgomery County have been converted into a rail trail . By 2015, the Pennypack Trail extended 5.4 miles (8.7 km) along the former line between Rockledge and Byberry Road near Bryn Athyn . Additional trackage was in Southampton was dismantled in October 2018, though several townships along the line are still hoping for resumption of rail service to alleviate traffic congestion on local roads and highways. Fox Chase trains make
154-413: The non-electrified Fox Chase-Newtown line into the rest of its all-electrified commuter system. A $ 10 million plan to restore service to Newtown and Pottstown using British Rail-Leyland diesel railbuses was considered, with a test run reaching Newtown on September 3. Though the trial runs were relatively successful, ride quality was lackluster. Burdened with ongoing budgetary problems, SEPTA decided against
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#1732781150609168-469: The purchase of the railbuses. In March 1987, SEPTA received several bids from private operators interested in running diesel-hauled trains to Newtown (as well as between Norristown and Pottstown). The operators suggested using non-union workers, which SEPTA was against. In addition, funding for these operations was allegedly questionable, and the SEPTA board rejected all offers. Beginning in 2009, portions on
182-800: Was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, but the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad leased it in 1879. Under the Reading it was known as the Newtown Branch. Following the Reading's final bankruptcy in 1976 the branch was conveyed to SEPTA ; Conrail operated services under contract until 1983 when SEPTA took full control. During the Reading Company era, an accident on the line in Bryn Athyn occurred where two steam trains collided head on with each other. Almost
196-434: Was to continue to the north, but this expansion was never built. The building was torn down in 1960, and a new shelter was constructed in 1976. It later became a part of SEPTA 's Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line . The station, and all of those north of Fox Chase station , was closed on January 18, 1983, due to failing diesel train equipment . SEPTA experimented with the line by operating the Fox Chase-Newtown diesel segment as
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