Subway/Elevated Questions

first how much is the fare and the fare payment system does septa uses tokens,metrocard or ticket with rotating bar turnstiles
second what type of track and subway cars are used in septa
third how septa subway stations are designed
forth how does a septa subway map look like

SEPTA's Subway-Elevated system has two main lines: The Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines. The MFSE uses cars (220 I believe) built in the late 90s by Adtranz to trolley gauge-5'2 1/2 inches powered by underrunning third rail-as used by the Metro North Commuter Railroad. The Broad Street Line uses standard-gauge cars (125 I believe) built by Kawasaki in the early 80s. A map of this system would be a plussign with a waving arm,so to speak. Philly also has light rail trolleys to South & West Philly - Routes 10,11,13,34,36. that go underground in University City and follow the MFSE to the downtown 13th street terminal. Color coding on these lines are Blue for the MFSE;Orange for the BSL and Green for the light rail. Rapid transit routes nearby connecting at 69th Street Terminal include route 100-Norristown High Speed Line (purple) using cars built by Adtranz in the mid 90s-standard gauge and suburban trolley routes 101 and 102-Media and Sharon Hill Trolleys(brown)using LRVs built in the early 80s-the LR trolleys that go to center city have a similar variation. Fares: $2 Cash or $1.30 for tokens bought in multiples of 2,5 or 10. or $2.60 for 2,$6.50 for 5 and $13.00 for 10. A transfer between routes costs 60 cents-you get one when you pay your original fare. A Daypass costs $5.50 and covers unlimited rides on all these routes listed,non regional rail transit. With a Daypass,you get one RRD ride. If you are staying longer,consider a weekly Transpass-They have a 7-day use period from Monday to the following Sunday and come in the form of a magnetic stripe pass. This is valid on all City routes as is the Daypass but it is valid to zone one RRD stations anytime,city stations in zones 2&3 off peak and ANYWHERE on weekends. Cost: $18.75. The last line to mention is the PATCO High Speed Line to NJ which operates in subway under Locust and 8th Streets in Phila-than travels over the Ben Franklin Bridge(great view) to Camden,NJ where it goes under DT Camden in subway than operates a high-speed suburban-type rail route to Lindenwold,NJ. Cars used are built by the Budd Company in 1969-70 or so with add-ons built by Canadian Vickers in 1980. Fares from Phila.to Camden are about $1.25 or about three dollars to Lindenwold. At Camden you can connect with the DMU-operated NJ Transit River Line on the east side of the Delaware River to Burlington and Trenton. The fare is just $1.10 going up to $1.25 on July 1st. At Lindenwold you can connect with the Atlantic City NJT rail line. Hope this information helps you enjoy the wealth of rail transit that Philadelphia offers. MACTRAXX

A couple of other things to be aware of:

> There are free interchanges between the MFSE (15th St) and BSS (City Hall) stations. Just stay inside the turnstiles and follow the crowds. If you accidentally go outside and try to get back in it's a second full fare even if the cashier saw you make the mistake.

> Similarly there are free interchanges between the MFSE and subway-surface trolley lines at 13th, 15th and 30th Sts. Again, stay inside the marked areas and you'll be fine.

> If you're taking any of the suburban transit lines your city transfer (60c) or Transpass will be good for the first suburban zone as well as the part of your trip you took on the city division. If you go beyond the first zone it's an extra 50c for each zone, so have lots of quarters.

> Transpasses are flat-use instruments. You can make as many trips as you want within the time period purchased (Monday to Sunday only, no alternatives - thanks, SEPTA) but you can't reload them or get a refund if you didn't use it enough to break even, so you have to do some arithmetic up front.

Warnings - as MACTRAXX pointed out, paying in cash is by far the most expensive option unless you're only making a single trip. The one-way cash fare is over 50% higher than if you buy tokens in advance. Second, if you're riding the bus or trolley lines in the 'burbs and staying long enough to justify a weekly pass, don't let the helpful folks at the (mis)information centers talk you into buying the zoned pass called a TrailPass as a "convenience". Its price is based on commuter-rail fares. You'll end up paying half again as much as if you bought tokens or a Transpass and just paid the zone charges separately.

Despite SEPTA's inept management and less-than-stellar service there's still a heck of a lot of varied and interesting equipment running. It can be quite an experience - enjoy!