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117-946: The PATCO Speedline , signed in Philadelphia as the Lindenwold Line and also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line , is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation ( PATCO ), which runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , and Camden County, New Jersey . The line runs underground in Philadelphia, crosses the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge , runs underground in Camden , then runs above ground to

234-451: A Freedom Card , and magnetic stripe paper cards, valid for three days. PATCO has five different fare zones and it is necessary to retain one's ticket (or card) to exit the station at the proper zone. There is currently no discount for use of the stored value Freedom Card or for multi-ride paper tickets. There are also no unlimited ride pass options, however a reduced fare Freedom Card is available for senior citizens and disabled riders. At

351-520: A Pulse code cab signaling system which transmits signal codes to the trains via the running rails. Wayside signals are located only at interlockings . Even when the Automatic Train Operation System is not in use, the cab signal speed control function is still enabled and if an operator goes above the permitted speed, the power is cut and the brakes are applied until the speed is back within the limit. The entire PATCO system

468-434: A contactless smart card system designed, built and integrated by Cubic Corporation , the firm responsible for the 1969 magnetic card system. Magnetic tickets are still sold however they are now in the form of disposable paper magnetic stripe cards that expire after 3 days. The new computer vending machines support payment cards. Additional ticket vending machines were installed at each station inside of fare control so that if

585-605: A variable-frequency drive , but this is not the case. Bogies are of the Budd designed Pioneer III variety and while lightweight, provide for a very bouncy ride. The married pair cars shared a single motor control unit and automatic operation box. Many PATCO Car design features also appeared in the M1/M3 class of MU railcars for the Long Island Rail Road which provides for a similar riding experience. PATCO maintained

702-459: A ballooning budget and a project that has run far behind schedule, the transit center was poorly constructed and has not become operational due to poor design and workmanship. In April 2014, The Washington Post published an exposé on Parsons Brinckerhoff's troubled transit center, reporting that an independent report has found that the public would be at risk due to falling concrete and needs a significant redesign and upgrades. Parsons Brinckerhoff

819-425: A body of water), which are potential congestion sites but also offer an opportunity for transfers between lines. Ring lines provide good coverage, connect between the radial lines and serve tangential trips that would otherwise need to cross the typically congested core of the network. A rough grid pattern can offer a wide variety of routes while still maintaining reasonable speed and frequency of service. A study of

936-454: A code for its stations. Unlike that of Singapore's MRT, it is mostly numbers. Based on the line number, for example Sinyongsan station, is coded as station 429. Being on Line 4, the first number of the station code is 4. The last two numbers are the station number on that line. Interchange stations can have multiple codes. Like City Hall station in Seoul which is served by Line 1 and Line 2. It has

1053-651: A code of 132 and 201 respectively. The Line 2 is a circle line and the first stop is City Hall, therefore, City Hall has the station code of 201. For lines without a number like Bundang line it will have an alphanumeric code. Lines without a number that are operated by KORAIL will start with the letter 'K'. With widespread use of the Internet and cell phones globally, transit operators now use these technologies to present information to their users. In addition to online maps and timetables, some transit operators now offer real-time information which allows passengers to know when

1170-583: A conventional track is often provided in case of flat tires and for switching . There are also some rubber-tired systems that use a central guide rail , such as the Sapporo Municipal Subway and the NeoVal system in Rennes , France. Advocates of this system note that it is much quieter than conventional steel-wheeled trains, and allows for greater inclines given the increased traction of

1287-431: A day, one of only a few U.S. mass transit systems to do so. In 2023, the line saw 5,452,000 rides, or about 18,500 per weekday in the third quarter of 2024. The present-day PATCO Speedline follows the route of several historical mainline railroad lines, some dating back to the 19th century. These railroads all terminated in Camden , where passengers could catch ferries across the Delaware River to Philadelphia . Early in

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1404-405: A dedicated right-of-way are typically used only outside dense areas, since they create a physical barrier in the urban fabric that hinders the flow of people and vehicles across their path and have a larger physical footprint. This method of construction is the cheapest as long as land values are low. It is often used for new systems in areas that are planned to fill up with buildings after the line

1521-418: A large number of factors, including geographical barriers, existing or expected travel patterns, construction costs, politics, and historical constraints. A transit system is expected to serve an area of land with a set of lines , which consist of shapes summarized as "I", "L", "U", "S", and "O" shapes or loops. Geographical barriers may cause chokepoints where transit lines must converge (for example, to cross

1638-652: A large part of the network, for example, in outer suburbs, runs at ground level. In most of Britain , a subway is a pedestrian underpass . The terms Underground and Tube are used for the London Underground . The North East England Tyne and Wear Metro , mostly overground, is known as the Metro . In Scotland , the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway . In Ireland ,

1755-452: A line is obtained by multiplying the car capacity, the train length, and the service frequency . Heavy rapid transit trains might have six to twelve cars, while lighter systems may use four or fewer. Cars have a capacity of 100 to 150 passengers, varying with the seated to standing ratio  – more standing gives higher capacity. The minimum time interval between trains is shorter for rapid transit than for mainline railways owing to

1872-502: A master plan update for San Antonio International Airport . Parsons Brinckerhoff partnered with rival engineering firm Bechtel to build the troubled Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts. The Big Dig, or Central Artery/Tunnel project as it was officially known, was intended to replace an elevated Interstate freeway and connecting roads with a tunnel system underneath Boston. The project was beset with bad engineering, shoddy workmanship, and

1989-615: A metro. In Spain, such systems are present in Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao and Valencia . In Portugal, Lisbon has a metro. The Italian cities of Catania , Genoa , Milan , Naples , Rome and Turin also have metro lines. In Germany and Austria they rapid transit is known as U-Bahn , which are often supported by S-Bahn systems. In Germany, U-Bahn systems exist in Berlin , Hamburg , Munich and Nuremberg , while in Austria such

2106-489: A pair of doors on each side with a foyer area inside the doors for standing passengers . There are also hand-holds on all seat backs for standing passengers the entire length of the aisles. Car end-doors are unlocked, but inter-car movement is discouraged because of the extreme motions between cars. Interior cabs are halved to free up the space for passengers, however both cabs at the front and rear of any train are left in their full width configuration. PATCO announced plans for

2223-467: A rapid transit setting. WSP USA WSP USA , formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff , is an American multinational engineering and design firm. The firm operates in the fields of strategic consulting, planning, engineering, construction management, energy, infrastructure and community planning. It is a subsidiary of WSP Global . In 2013, the company was named the tenth largest U.S.-based engineering/design firm by Engineering News Record . In 2020, it

2340-526: A rider has purchased the wrong fare, they may pay the remaining fare to exit. NJ Transit buses connect to most PATCO stations in New Jersey. The New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line also stops at Lindenwold Station, and the River Line connects at Broadway Station ( Walter Rand Transportation Center ). The SEPTA Market–Frankford Line connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station , which

2457-499: A scrap dealer in Ohio, and rebuilt them to provide PATCO with extra DC motors for future replacement if needed, or required. The first rebuilt cars were redelivered to PATCO's Lindenwold, New Jersey Shops on November 12, 2013, and were tested accordingly before going into service. Rebuilt cars are being renumbered into the 1000 series instead of their former numbers. The former single unit cars were converted into married-pair type cars with

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2574-470: A special "SEPTA Transfer" ticket could be purchased from the unpaid side of any New Jersey station. These tickets were sold for $ 3.50 ($ 1.75 per ride, a savings compared to a single $ 2.25 cash fare or a token for $ 2.00) and dispensed two paper receipts, one good for a ride within one hour of the time of purchase and another good for a ride within 24 hours of the time of purchase. Originally, both transfers were going to be valid for 24 hours, however, PATCO changed

2691-565: A specialized transit police may be established. These security measures are normally integrated with measures to protect revenue by checking that passengers are not travelling without paying. Some subway systems, such as the Beijing Subway , which is ranked by Worldwide Rapid Transit Data as the "World's Safest Rapid Transit Network" in 2015, incorporates airport-style security checkpoints at every station. Rapid transit systems have been subject to terrorism with many casualties, such as

2808-608: A system exists in Vienna . In addition, the small, car-free town of Serfaus in the Austrian state of Tyrol also features a short U-Bahn line. There are no U-Bahn systems in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but the city of Lausanne has its own, small metro system. In Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, a project for a U-Bahn network was stopped by a referendum in the 1970s and instead its S-Bahn system

2925-534: A wholly owned subsidiary of WSP Global. On January 10, 2017, it was announced that the brand Parsons Brinckerhoff would be retired and combined into the parent company, WSP Global. WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff is now called WSP. Following the acquisition of Louis Berger Group by WSP Global in 2018 for $ 400 million, the operations of Louis Berger Group in the United States were merged with WSP USA's. WSP USA acquired two US-based environmental consulting firms over

3042-801: Is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area . Rapid transit systems such as the Washington Metrorail , Los Angeles Metro Rail , the Miami Metrorail , and the Montreal Metro are generally called the Metro . In Philadelphia , the term "El" is used for the Market–Frankford Line which runs mostly on an elevated track, while the term "subway" applies to the Broad Street Line which is almost entirely underground. Chicago 's commuter rail system that serves

3159-608: Is a single corporate image for the entire transit authority, but the rapid transit uses its own logo that fits into the profile. A transit map is a topological map or schematic diagram used to show the routes and stations in a public transport system. The main components are color-coded lines to indicate each line or service, with named icons to indicate stations. Maps may show only rapid transit or also include other modes of public transport. Transit maps can be found in transit vehicles, on platforms , elsewhere in stations, and in printed timetables . Maps help users understand

3276-649: Is also involved with the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport in New York City, announced in 2015, with an expected completion date of 2022. In 2018, it was selected as the lead firm for the Charlotte Douglas International Airport Airfield Expansion, with a targeted completion of 2022. It is working on the new Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Southwest End-Around Taxiway, with an expected completion date of 2021. In 2018, it started working on

3393-506: Is built. Most rapid transit trains are electric multiple units with lengths from three to over ten cars. Crew sizes have decreased throughout history, with some modern systems now running completely unstaffed trains. Other trains continue to have drivers, even if their only role in normal operation is to open and close the doors of the trains at stations. Power is commonly delivered by a third rail or by overhead wires . The whole London Underground network uses fourth rail and others use

3510-418: Is it less effort, but it also tends to result in faster trips. The system was designed for one-person operation by exclusively utilizing island platforms and right-handed operation with operators sitting on the left side of the vehicle where they can open their window and monitor the boarding process. Where trains have to use the "wrong" side, mirrors are provided to give the operator a proper view. Prior to

3627-416: Is necessary, rolling stock with a smaller loading gauge from one sub network may be transported along other lines that use larger trains. On some networks such operations are part of normal services. Most rapid transit systems use conventional standard gauge railway track . Since tracks in subway tunnels are not exposed to rain , snow , or other forms of precipitation , they are often fixed directly to

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3744-555: Is referred to simply as "the subway", despite 40% of the system running above ground. The term "L" or "El" is not used for elevated lines in general as the lines in the system are already designated with letters and numbers. The "L" train or L (New York City Subway service) refers specifically to the 14th Street–Canarsie Local line, and not other elevated trains. Similarly, the Toronto Subway is referred to as "the subway", with some of its system also running above ground. These are

3861-509: Is run from Center Tower, centrally located above a substation near the Broadway station in Camden. All PATCO trains are electrically powered. Power comes from a top contact covered third rail at 750 V DC . There are two feeds from the commercial power grid, one located in Philadelphia from PECO Energy for the old Bridge Line tunnel segments and the other in New Jersey from PSE&G for

3978-614: Is scheduled to reopen in 2025. The project is budgeted at $ 29.3 million with construction expected to begin in 2021. The station will be updated to modern standards and accessibility with a surface structure planned at Franklin Square . In 2021, the City of Philadelphia proposed a westward PATCO expansion to the rapidly-growing University City district via a new rail tunnel under the Schuylkill River . The 40th Street Trolley Portal

4095-412: Is serviced by at least one specific route with trains stopping at all or some of the line's stations. Most systems operate several routes, and distinguish them by colors, names, numbering, or a combination thereof. Some lines may share track with each other for a portion of their route or operate solely on their own right-of-way. Often a line running through the city center forks into two or more branches in

4212-748: Is the most commonly used term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts ; the use of tunnels inspires names such as subway , underground , Untergrundbahn ( U-Bahn ) in German, or the Tunnelbana (T-bana) in Swedish. The use of viaducts inspires names such as elevated ( L or el ), skytrain , overhead , overground or Hochbahn in German. One of these terms may apply to an entire system, even if

4329-459: Is two blocks away from SEPTA's Jefferson Station , where all but one of SEPTA's Regional Rail trains stop. SEPTA's Broad Street Line connects to PATCO at the Walnut–Locust station via a short underground walkway to PATCO's 12th-13th & Locust, and 15-16th & Locust stations. The Broad-Ridge Spur connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station via a pedestrian walkway. Formerly,

4446-605: The Balfour Beatty plc. In October 2010 Balfour Beatty acquired Halsall Associates, which became a subsidiary of Parsons Brinckerhoff and part of its Canadian operations. On October 31, 2014, Balfour Beatty sold Parsons Brinckerhoff to WSP Global . In 2017 Parsons Brinckerhoff changed its name to WSP USA. On September 3, 2014, it was announced that WSP Global had made an offer to purchase Parsons Brinckerhoff from Balfour Beatty plc for US$ 1.24 billion. The transaction closed on October 31, 2014 and Parsons Brinckerhoff became

4563-707: The COVID-19 pandemic , with trains bypassing 12–13th & Locust , City Hall , Westmont , and Ashland stations. Westbound express service was also suspended. The four stations reopened on September 14, 2020, but express service remained suspended. PATCO originally operated 121 67-foot (20.42 m) cars which were acquired in two separate orders, labeled PATCO I and PATCO II. The original PATCO I cars were designed and manufactured by Budd of Philadelphia in 1968. Cars numbered 101-125 were single units, and cars numbered 201-250 were in permanently coupled married pairs . The PATCO II cars were delivered in 1980 (in parallel with

4680-627: The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is despite the name considered a commuter rail due to usage of mainline railways. In France, large cities, such as Paris , Marseille and Lyon , feature a Métro . Also the smaller cities of Lille Rennes have a light metro. Furthermore, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands have metro systems in place. Several Southern European contries also have

4797-752: The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad K-series cars from 1958, the New York City Subway R38 and R42 cars from the late-1960s, and the Nagoya Municipal Subway 3000 series , Osaka Municipal Subway 10 series and MTR M-Train EMUs from the 1970s, were generally only made possible largely due to the relatively generous loading gauges of these systems and also adequate open-air sections to dissipate hot air from these air conditioning units. Especially in some rapid transit systems such as

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4914-429: The London Underground . In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway , initially a cable-hauled line using stationary steam engines . As of 2021 , China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world  – 40 in number, running on over 4,500 km (2,800 mi) of track – and was responsible for most of the world's rapid-transit expansion in

5031-740: The Metropolitan Railway opened publicly in London in 1863. High capacity monorails with larger and longer trains can be classified as rapid transit systems. Such monorail systems recently started operating in Chongqing and São Paulo . Light metro is a subclass of rapid transit that has the speed and grade separation of a "full metro" but is designed for smaller passenger numbers. It often has smaller loading gauges, lighter train cars and smaller consists of typically two to four cars. Light metros are typically used as feeder lines into

5148-578: The Montreal Metro (opened 1966) and Sapporo Municipal Subway (opened 1971), their entirely enclosed nature due to their use of rubber-tyred technology to cope with heavy snowfall experienced by both cities in winter precludes any air-conditioning retrofits of rolling stock due to the risk of heating the tunnels to temperatures that would be too hot for passengers and for train operations. In many cities, metro networks consist of lines operating different sizes and types of vehicles. Although these sub-networks may not often be connected by track, in cases when it

5265-589: The Prague Metro . The London Underground and Paris Métro are densely built systems with a matrix of crisscrossing lines throughout the cities. The Chicago 'L' has most of its lines converging on The Loop , the main business, financial, and cultural area. Some systems have a circular line around the city center connecting to radially arranged outward lines, such as the Moscow Metro 's Koltsevaya Line and Beijing Subway 's Line 10 . The capacity of

5382-1051: The Scheldt Tunnel in Antwerp , Belgium (1933); The Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1935); The 1939 World's Fair in New York City; the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey (1957); the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia (1957); the Pell Bridge in Newport, Rhode Island (1969); the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (United States) (1980); the I-95 / Fort McHenry Tunnel (1980);

5499-685: The Singapore MRT , Changi Airport MRT station has the alphanumeric code CG2, indicating its position as the 2nd station on the Changi Airport branch of the East West Line. Interchange stations have at least two codes, for example, Raffles Place MRT station has two codes, NS26 and EW14, the 26th station on the North South Line and the 14th station on the East West Line. The Seoul Metro is another example that utilizes

5616-774: The U.S. 25E Cumberland Gap Tunnel at the Tennessee/Kentucky border, the H-3 Highway in Oahu, Hawaii (1997); the Sabiya Power Station in Kuwait (2000) and the rapid transit systems of San Francisco (1972); Atlanta (1979); Singapore (1987); Taipei (1996); and Caracas (1983). Parsons Brinckerhoff was acquired by Balfour Beatty in October 2009 and operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of

5733-450: The deep tube lines . Historically, rapid transit trains used ceiling fans and openable windows to provide fresh air and piston-effect wind cooling to riders. From the 1950s to the 1990s (and in most of Europe until the 2000s), many rapid transit trains from that era were also fitted with forced-air ventilation systems in carriage ceiling units for passenger comfort. Early rapid transit rolling stock fitted with air conditioning , such as

5850-409: The linear motor for propulsion. Some urban rail lines are built to a loading gauge as large as that of main-line railways ; others are built to a smaller one and have tunnels that restrict the size and sometimes the shape of the train compartments. One example is most of the London Underground , which has acquired the informal term "tube train" due to the cylindrical shape of the trains used on

5967-432: The 15 world largest subway systems suggested a universal shape composed of a dense core with branches radiating from it. Rapid transit operators have often built up strong brands , often focused on easy recognition – to allow quick identification even in the vast array of signage found in large cities – combined with the desire to communicate speed, safety, and authority. In many cities, there

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6084-467: The 1970s. PATCO runs the majority of its trains in 2-, 4- or 6-car configurations. Before the Alstom rebuild, single-unit trains were occasionally seen late at night, while 3- or 5-car trains were encountered only when not enough cars are available to meet the service requirement. All stations are capable of handling 7- or 8-car trains, but these lengths have never been run except for brief testing and for

6201-488: The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack and the 2005 " 7/7 " terrorist bombings on the London Underground. Some rapid transport trains have extra features such as wall sockets, cellular reception, typically using a leaky feeder in tunnels and DAS antennas in stations, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity. The first metro system in the world to enable full mobile phone reception in underground stations and tunnels

6318-651: The 2-car trains and social distancing requirements of the COVID 19 pandemic further increased the use of 6-car trainsets during off-peak times. Since December 2019 4-car (doors not open on the first and last cars) late night trains operate every 60 minutes instead of the previous schedule of every 45 minutes with a PATCO police officer reported to be onboard all trains from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays and from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekends. City Hall station in Camden and 9/10th & Locust station in Philadelphia are closed overnight due to low ridership. PATCO trains are governed by

6435-621: The 2010s. The world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro . The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations (472 stations in total) is the New York City Subway . The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Shanghai Metro, Tokyo subway system , Seoul Metro and the Moscow Metro . The term Metro

6552-547: The 20th century, the idea of a fixed Delaware River crossing connecting Camden and Philadelphia gained traction, and in 1919, the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey formed the Delaware River Bridge Joint Commission to build a bridge between the two cities. The Delaware River Bridge, now the Benjamin Franklin Bridge , was designed to accommodate both rail and road traffic. When it opened on July 1, 1926, it had two outboard structures beside

6669-532: The 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that are operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system . Rapid transit is used for local transport in cities , agglomerations , and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people often short distances at high frequency . The extent of

6786-452: The 8th–Locust Street subway resumed in 1950. Bridge Line service was extended to 15–16th & Locust station , with intermediate stations at 12–13th & Locust station and 9–10th & Locust station , on February 14, 1953. This section is owned by the City of Philadelphia and leased by PATCO. Despite the extension, Bridge Line ridership was limited by high fares and not extending east of Camden. In January 1954, due to low ridership on

6903-545: The Alstom facility in Hornell, New York , in March 2011. The refurbishment consisted of a completely new interior with more modern colors, wheelchair access and more reliable HVAC systems. The rollsigns were replaced with digital displays, and the cars received automated announcement systems, with announcements recorded by Bernie Wagenblast . These changes reduced seating by eight seats, from 160 to 152. The refurbishment also saw

7020-584: The Delaware and three lines in New Jersey. Route A would run to Moorestown , Route B to Kirkwood (now Lindenwold), and Route C to Woodbury Heights . A later study by Louis T. Klauder & Associates recommended using the Bridge Line instead to reach Philadelphia and suggested building Route B first, as it had the highest potential ridership. Over the weekend of August 23 to 27, 1968, the Ridge Spur

7137-518: The PATCO I cars was found to have certain reliability issues and was completely rebuilt to the PATCO II standard after the PATCO II cars arrived. As built, the PATCO cars used camshaft resistance type motor controllers common to DC powered rapid transit vehicles up through the 1980s. The unique whine of the motors and gear assemblies can lead many to mistake the cars for using thyristor drive or even

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7254-499: The annual holiday "Santa Train" special for children. In its first several decades, PATCO actively managed consist length based on ridership levels as opposed to running trains in fixed sets, with single car trains making the occasional appearance overnight prior to the elimination of single cars as part of the rebuild. Due to recent capital improvements, weekend and mid-day headways have grown, prompting PATCO to run 4 or 6 car trains during most off peak times, albeit less frequently than

7371-478: The beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing

7488-509: The bridge began on February 15, 1969. The Lindenwold extension cost $ 92 million. An infill park and ride station, Woodcrest , was added on February 1, 1980, along with the PATCO II railcars. Ferry Avenue Local trains were replaced with Woodcrest Local trains on September 20, 1980. In 2005, PATCO officials began planning a new route in the corridor of the originally proposed Route C that would serve Gloucester County and end in Glassboro on

7605-407: The complete refurbishment of the entire fleet with work expected to begin in 2009. The contract for rebuilding the rolling stock was awarded to Alstom , at a cost of $ 194.2 million, beating Bombardier 's bid by $ 35 million, though Bombardier claimed the contract was incorrectly awarded. PATCO began to ship the railcars with their trucks removed and replaced with highway tires for the road trip to

7722-422: The course of a railway in China from Hankow (Wuhan) to Canton (Guangzhou), a line that is also still in use today. In 1906, Henry M. Brinckerhoff , a highway engineer, brought his expertise in electric railways to the firm. He is known for his co-invention of the third rail. The firm has worked on some of the most notable infrastructure projects of the 20th century, including: the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel (1930);

7839-423: The death of an automobile passenger as a poor ceiling design caused a tunnel roof section to collapse on a car in the tunnel, crushing the victim. The Big Dig was years over schedule and engineering costs to several times of Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff's original estimates, from $ 8 Billion to in excess of $ 24 Billion. Due to the poor construction, it has been estimated that the Big Dig's life span will be far short of

7956-424: The direction of travel, and half facing the opposite direction. Seats originally ran the full length of the car, with the front seats next to the operator's booth having the benefit of a large picture window. However, the newly refurbished cars now have full-width operator's cabs, resulting in the loss of four passenger seats, in addition to a number of folding longitudinal seats for ADA compliance. Each PATCO car has

8073-414: The display of the transit network. Often this has the effect of compressing the distance between stations in the outer area of the system, and expanding distances between those close to the center. Some systems assign unique alphanumeric codes to each of their stations to help commuters identify them, which briefly encodes information about the line it is on, and its position on the line. For example, on

8190-434: The east end of the line in Lindenwold, New Jersey (with the Haddonfield, New Jersey stop being below street level). The Port Authority Transit Corporation and the Speedline are owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority . The line opened between Lindenwold and Camden on January 4, 1969, with the full line to Philadelphia opening a few weeks later on February 15, 1969. The PATCO Speedline operates 24 hours

8307-434: The entire metropolitan area is called Metra (short for Met ropolitan Ra il), while its rapid transit system that serves the city is called the "L" . Boston's subway system is known locally as "The T". In Atlanta , the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority goes by the acronym "MARTA." In the San Francisco Bay Area , residents refer to Bay Area Rapid Transit by its acronym "BART". The New York City Subway

8424-405: The equipment to read and code the farecards began to suffer from reliability problems with little replacement part availability. More importantly, the fare system could not accept payment cards and the reliance on change machines created an extra step for those needing to pay with paper currency. In July 2006, PATCO announced that it would start the transition from a magnetic ticket fare system to

8541-474: The extension, off-peak service and Saturday again began operating between Girard and Camden, with a shuttle train operating between 8th and 16th stations. Sunday service was suspended west of 8th Street at that time due to minimal usage. By 1962, only 1,900 daily passengers boarded the line west of 8th Street. To facilitate the construction of extensions in Southern New Jersey, the states expanded

8658-516: The floor rather than resting on ballast , such as normal railway tracks. An alternate technology, using rubber tires on narrow concrete or steel roll ways , was pioneered on certain lines of the Paris Métro and Mexico City Metro , and the first completely new system to use it was in Montreal , Canada. On most of these networks, additional horizontal wheels are required for guidance, and

8775-520: The four New Jersey fare zones with the Camden zone tickets also used for intra-Philadelphia travel. Used tickets with no remaining rides were retained by the faregates, re-encoded at a PATCO facility and returned to use in the vending machine. Ten-trip tickets could also be purchased through mail order or from ticket windows at select suburban stations. At its inception, this system was state-of-the-art, but became increasingly problematic as they aged. Tickets were vulnerable to damage from magnetic sources and

8892-694: The grounds of Rowan University , formerly Glassboro State College. On May 12, 2009, Jon Corzine , the Governor of New Jersey, formally endorsed a diesel light rail along an existing Conrail right-of-way, which was selected because of its lower capital cost and operating cost. The proposed Glassboro–Camden Line would require riders to transfer to the Speedline at the Walter Rand Transportation Center for trips to Philadelphia. The 1936 Franklin Square station , closed since 1979,

9009-439: The interconnections between different parts of the system; for example, they show the interchange stations where passengers can transfer between lines. Unlike conventional maps, transit maps are usually not geographically accurate, but emphasize the topological connections among the different stations. The graphic presentation may use straight lines and fixed angles, and often a fixed minimum distance between stations, to simplify

9126-635: The line joined the 1932-opened Broad-Ridge Spur just west of Franklin Square and shared its 8th Street/Market Street station . An underground tunnel continuing south following 8th Street then west following Locust Street to 18th Street, had been started in 1917 as part of plans for a Center City subway loop. The shell of this 8th–Locust Street subway was completed, but not outfitted for passenger service, in 1933. Beginning in June 1949, Bridge Line and Ridge Spur services were through-routed, providing one-seat service between Girard station and Camden. Construction on

9243-602: The lines of the Lyon Metro includes a section of rack (cog) railway , while the Carmelit , in Haifa, is an underground funicular . For elevated lines, another alternative is the monorail , which can be built either as straddle-beam monorails or as a suspended monorail . While monorails have never gained wide acceptance outside Japan, there are some such as Chongqing Rail Transit 's monorail lines which are widely used in

9360-557: The main rapid transit system. For instance, the Wenhu Line of the Taipei Metro serves many relatively sparse neighbourhoods and feeds into and complements the high capacity metro lines. Some systems have been built from scratch, others are reclaimed from former commuter rail or suburban tramway systems that have been upgraded, and often supplemented with an underground or elevated downtown section. Ground-level alignments with

9477-586: The main roadway for rail and space for two streetcar tracks (never installed) on the main road deck. Construction of the rail line did not begin until 1932, and the Bridge Line opened on June 7, 1936. Relatively short, it only had four stations: 8th Street and Franklin Square in Philadelphia, and City Hall and Broadway in Camden. Connection was available to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines at Broadway. In Philadelphia,

9594-443: The manual announcements with automated announcements. Trains operate at a maximum of 65 mph (105 km/h) on the surface portion of the system, 40 mph (64 km/h) over the bridge, and 30 mph (48 km/h) in the subway portion. Trains used to have a top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) on the surface portion, but this caused excessive wear on the traction motors and was cut back to 65 mph (105 km/h) in

9711-476: The married pairs by having an extra single leaf door located behind each operators booth. This was installed before the fare collection system was finalized and there was a possibility of operators collecting fares on board during the late night hours. The PATCO I cars were originally fitted with WABCO Model N-2 MU couplers. Because of reliability issues these were replaced by Tomlinson type couplers manufactured by Ohio Brass Company. The original electrical system in

9828-418: The network map "readable" by illiterate people, this system has since become an "icon" of the system. Compared to other modes of transport, rapid transit has a good safety record, with few accidents. Rail transport is subject to strict safety regulations , with requirements for procedure and maintenance to minimize risk. Head-on collisions are rare due to use of double track, and low operating speeds reduce

9945-429: The new mainline segments. In New Jersey power is distributed via wayside AC transmission lines in the 26.4 kV range and a series of 7 substations, located approximately every 2 miles (3.2 km). PATCO was one of the first transit systems to employ automated fare collection and tickets with magnetically stored data. It currently uses two types of farecards: reusable contactless smart cards for frequent riders, known as

10062-467: The next two years: Ecology & Environment (E & E) in 2019, and LT Environmental in 2020. In 2021, WSP purchased Golder Associates, and in 2022 WSP acquired Wood PLC’s Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. business. The firm is involved in Long Island Rail Road 's East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal in New York City , with a planned opening of December 2022. It

10179-402: The next vehicle will arrive, and expected travel times. The standardized GTFS data format for transit information allows many third-party software developers to produce web and smartphone app programs which give passengers customized updates regarding specific transit lines and stations of interest. Mexico City Metro uses a unique pictogram for each station. Originally intended to help make

10296-958: The occurrence and severity of rear-end collisions and derailments . Fire is more of a danger underground, such as the King's Cross fire in London in November 1987, which killed 31 people. Systems are generally built to allow evacuation of trains at many places throughout the system. High platforms , usually over 1 meter / 3 feet, are a safety risk, as people falling onto the tracks have trouble climbing back. Platform screen doors are used on some systems to eliminate this danger. Rapid transit facilities are public spaces and may suffer from security problems: petty crimes , such as pickpocketing and baggage theft, and more serious violent crimes , as well as sexual assaults on tightly packed trains and platforms. Security measures include video surveillance , security guards , and conductors . In some countries

10413-698: The on-board ATO gear will supply maximum acceleration or maximum braking force to reach that target speed. Automatic station stops are handled by track mounted transponders and can be overridden by the operator for non-stopping trains. The system suffers from problems handling slippery track conditions and human operators are required to take control in any sort of precipitation. Because of the ATO limitations, drivers must make one trip per day under manual operation to stay in practice and are not penalized for running their trains manually at any time of their choosing. In practice, most operators prefer automatic operation as not only

10530-603: The only two North American systems that are primarily called "subways". In most of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan , rapid transit systems are primarily known by the acronym MRT . The meaning varies from one country to another. In Indonesia , the acronym stands for Moda Raya Terpadu or Integrated Mass [Transit] Mode in English. In the Philippines , it stands for Metro Rail Transit . Two underground lines use

10647-529: The opening of the Woodcrest Park and ride facility) and consisted of married pairs numbered 251-296. The PATCO II cars were manufactured by Vickers Canada under a license from Budd, but are nearly indistinguishable from the PATCO I's, the only differences being that the PATCO II cars had a fixed partition behind the operator's booth and lack a stainless steel shroud below the door line to ease access to traction components. The single units differed from

10764-503: The original specification that taxpayers paid for. The tunnels still have "thousands of leaks" and substandard materials. Subsequent to the fatal tunnel ceiling collapse, light fixtures have been found to have been incorrectly installed and corroding, posing a risk of failure and falling to the tunnel roadway. Parsons Brinckerhoff was also the lead engineering firm to build the Silver Spring, Maryland transportation center. Despite

10881-587: The outset. Budapest , Chicago , Glasgow , Boston and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro , which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost, engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted to construct tram systems, particularly those in Australia, where density in cities

10998-724: The powers of the Delaware River Joint Commission (which owned the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the New Jersey portion of the Bridge Line), rechristening it as the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) in 1951. The agency commissioned Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall & MacDonald to study possible rapid transit services for South Jersey; Parsons, Brinckerhoff's final report recommended building a new tunnel under

11115-908: The rapid transit system varies greatly between cities, with several transport strategies. Some systems may extend only to the limits of the inner city, or to its inner ring of suburbs with trains making frequent station stops. The outer suburbs may then be reached by a separate commuter rail network where more widely spaced stations allow higher speeds. In some cases the differences between urban rapid transit and suburban systems are not clear. Rapid transit systems may be supplemented by other systems such as trolleybuses , regular buses , trams , or commuter rail. This combination of transit modes serves to offset certain limitations of rapid transit such as limited stops and long walking distances between outside access points. Bus or tram feeder systems transport people to rapid transit stops. Each rapid transit system consists of one or more lines , or circuits. Each line

11232-410: The rebuild, the operator was not isolated from the passenger cabin, instead being surrounded by a low partition. As of 2018 all of the legacy vehicles have been rebuilt with modern controls and full width cabs. Operators are still responsible for opening and closing the doors, sounding the horn, starting the train from station stops and manually operating the train when necessary. The rebuild also replaced

11349-416: The rebuilding process. The final run of the non-refurbished "legacy" trains took place on June 10, 2018, with a special day of "last rides" and a contest held for a rider to sit in the front row seat for the last ride. As of March 24, 2019, the refurbishment work has been completed with a total of 120 of the previous 121 cars accepted back into service. The remaining single unit #116 was excluded from

11466-576: The rebuilding program due to having been damaged beyond repair by an arson fire in 1997 and subsequently used as a source of spare parts. PATCO was one of the first transit systems to incorporate automatic train operation (ATO) for regular service. The PATCO ATO is an analog system that makes use of pulse code cab signaling supplied by Union Switch & Signal . The cab signals supply one of five different speeds (20 mph [32 km/h], 30 mph [48 km/h], 40 mph [64 km/h], 65 mph [105 km/h] or full stop) and

11583-513: The replacement of the propulsion and automatic train operation systems, which used technology last updated in the early 1980s; the camshaft resistance type motor controller was replaced by a new solid state unit using IGBTs and the relay based ATO unit was replaced by a computerized system. The General Electric DC motors, Pioneer III trucks and gearboxes were not replaced, but rebuilt by Alstom as well. Also, Alstom purchased many extra GE 1255 A2 motors from retired Metro-North Railroad M-1A's from

11700-542: The rubber tires. However, they have higher maintenance costs and are less energy efficient. They also lose traction when weather conditions are wet or icy, preventing above-ground use of the Montréal Metro and limiting it on the Sapporo Municipal Subway, but not rubber-tired systems in other cities. Some cities with steep hills incorporate mountain railway technologies in their metros. One of

11817-422: The same interior styling in its vehicles from their introduction in 1969 through the end of the rebuilding process in 2018 with the 1980 PATCO II cars receiving the exact same look. The color combination was a base of cream with an avocado green fill. The rebuild replaced this with a grey and white interior with brighter fluorescent lighting. Seating is a 2+2 arrangement, with half of the seats in each car facing

11934-426: The single-leaf door behind the train operators position removed and sealed-off. The rebuilding is expected to extend the lives of these cars by 20 years. The first four rebuilt cars were placed in revenue service on May 28, 2015, after over a year and a half of testing. Alstom proceeded with the rebuilding of the remaining fleet of cars at a production and delivery rate of 4 to 6 cars per month until all cars went through

12051-407: The start of service in 1969, PATCO used a system of plastic tickets with an oxide layer on the entire back side for the magnetic encoding of data. Tickets were pre-encoded with a number of rides and a destination zone and sold from ticket vending machines in each station. These machines only accepted coins so bill changers were placed in stations to support paper currency. Each ticket vending machine

12168-663: The suburbs, allowing a higher service frequency in the center. This arrangement is used by many systems, such as the Copenhagen Metro , the Milan Metro , the Oslo Metro , the Istanbul Metro and the New York City Subway . Alternatively, there may be a single central terminal (often shared with the central railway station), or multiple interchange stations between lines in the city center, for instance in

12285-714: The term subway . In Thailand , it stands for Metropolitan Rapid Transit , previously using the Mass Rapid Transit name. Outside of Southeast Asia, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, Taiwan , have their own MRT systems which stands for Mass Rapid Transit , as with Singapore and Malaysia . In general rapid transit is a synonym for "metro" type transit, though sometimes rapid transit is defined to include "metro", commuter trains and grade separated light rail . Also high-capacity bus-based transit systems can have features similar to "metro" systems. The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked

12402-467: The term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were eventually merged into London Underground . The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset. The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe , the United States, Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from

12519-834: The time limit to prevent the unauthorized sale of PATCO transfers at Pennsylvania stations. With the release of SEPTA Key , a new type of Freedom card is now required to purchase a transfer to the SEPTA system. The cost of a transfer is $ 2 with this system and it is debited directly from an account based Freedom Card account, provided a new Freedom Share card is used, which is compatible with both PATCO Freedom and SEPTA Key card systems. Rapid transit Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks . Some systems use guided rubber tires , magnetic levitation ( maglev ), or monorail . The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside

12636-511: The trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities . Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened in 1863 using steam locomotives , and now forms part of

12753-601: The use of communications-based train control : the minimum headway can reach 90 seconds, but many systems typically use 120 seconds to allow for recovery from delays. Typical capacity lines allow 1,200 people per train, giving 36,000 passengers per hour per direction . However, much higher capacities are attained in East Asia with ranges of 75,000 to 85,000 people per hour achieved by MTR Corporation 's urban lines in Hong Kong. Rapid transit topologies are determined by

12870-551: The world, with approximately 31,500 employees in 500 offices serving 39 countries. Founded in 1885 in New York City by civil engineer William Barclay Parsons , among Parsons Brinckerhoff's earliest projects was the original IRT line of the New York City Subway , designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff and opened in 1904. Parsons Brinckerhoff also designed the Cape Cod Canal , which opened in 1914 and charted

12987-559: Was Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which launched its first underground mobile phone network using AMPS in 1989. Many metro systems, such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and the Berlin U-Bahn, provide mobile data connections in their tunnels for various network operators. The technology used for public, mass rapid transit has undergone significant changes in the years since

13104-436: Was capable of selling two types of tickets, which the rider chose by pushing a button after inserting the correct fare. Because the system has multiple fare zones, several machines were needed in each station. Stations in New Jersey had machines selling one way or round trip tickets to Philadelphia and machines selling tickets to other stations in New Jersey. Ticket machines in Philadelphia would sell single ride tickets to each of

13221-569: Was connected to a new upper-level terminal platform at 8th Street station to allow conversion of the Bridge Line into the "High-Speed Line". Bridge Line service was split into 16th Street–8th Street and 8th Street–Camden segments during the conversion, with a cross-platform transfer at 8th Street. Bridge Line service was suspended on December 29, 1968, for final conversion of the line. Service from Lindenwold station to Camden along former Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines trackage began on January 4, 1969; full service into Center City Philadelphia over

13338-899: Was developed further. Other Central European countries also have metro lines, for example in the cities of Budapest (Hungary), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). In Eastern Europe , metro systems are in operation in Minsk (Belarus), Kyiv (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Moscow (Russia). In Southeastern European countries, there are metro systems in Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), Belgrade (Serbia), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Istanbul (Turkey). In Northern Europe , rapid transit systems exist in Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland). Various terms are used for rapid transit systems around North America . The term metro

13455-751: Was identified as a possible terminus, near the University of Pennsylvania and several major hospitals. A connection at Penn Medicine station would provide direct SEPTA Regional Rail transfers with the Media/Wawa Line to Delaware County , the Wilmington/Newark Line to the state of Delaware , and the Airport Line to Philadelphia International Airport . Next steps include a feasibility study and cost estimate. The line began operating limited service on March 28, 2020, due to

13572-702: Was low and suburbs tended to spread out . Since the 1970s, the viability of underground train systems in Australian cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne , has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity. Melbourne had tunnels and stations developed in the 1970s and opened in 1980. The first line of the Sydney Metro was opened in 2019. Since the 1960s, many new systems have been introduced in Europe , Asia and Latin America . In

13689-465: Was ranked #7 of the Top 500 Design Firms and #2 of the Top 100 Pure Designers by the same magazine. On October 31, 2014, Parsons Brinckerhoff became a wholly owned independent subsidiary of WSP Global , a Canadian-based professional services firm. Parsons Brinckerhoff was renamed to WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff, then to WSP in 2017. Part of WSP Global, WSP USA is one of the largest professional services firms in

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