Three Key Facts:
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- $56 million in funding from the Biden Infrastructure Law is dedicated to upgrading four SEPTA stations in North Philadelphia.
- Stations impacted: Erie, Chinatown, Fairmount, Fairmount (Broad-Ridge Spur), and Snyder on the Broad Street Subway Line, and 11th Street on the Market-Frankford Lines.
- The upgrades include elevators, ramps, and ADA-compliant signage, enhancing accessibility for thousands of daily riders.
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The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is renovating six aging train stations with $56 million from the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law to update older transit and commuter rail stations and make them accessible to people with disabilities. , including $56 million for SEPTA to overhaul six subway-elevated stations.
All the stations set for improvements were built over 50 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of the 1990s and are currently only accessible by stairs. These upgrades are part of a larger effort to modernize the city’s infrastructure and ensure that public transit is available and accessible to all.
The stations serve major corridors on SEPTA’s Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines, two of the busiest lines in the system. Erie Station alone serves over 6,000 riders each weekday. With the new funding, SEPTA will install new elevators, ramps, and modernized signage to ensure the stations comply with the ADA.
“While our country has made enormous progress in the three decades since passing the Americans with Disabilities Act, too many people with disabilities still don’t have access to reliable public transportation,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are modernizing some of our oldest public rail stations and ensuring that more Americans count on our transit systems to get where they need to go.”
In addition to station upgrades, the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law is supporting other enhancements across SEPTA’s network, including funding to purchase 200 new rail cars. These cars will provide more efficient, comfortable service for the city’s 223 million annual riders.
