Pope's visit to Philadelphia and Amtrak's 30th Street Station

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Interesting details about 30th Street Station:

  • SEPTA Trenton and Wilmington line service will use the lower level platforms;
  • Taxi and rental car service will not be available;
  • and (my personal favorite), station restrooms will be closed, "but facilities will be available outside." Charming.
 
It may be SEPTA using lower level platforms because upper level platforms might not be long enough for extra long trains as well. If trains run thru Trenton - Wilmington lower level wwill speed up trains 10 - 15 minutes.
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
PRR 60 said:
  • and (my personal favorite), station restrooms will be closed, "but facilities will be available outside." Charming.
Click to expand...
When one uses the alternative "outside facilities", my advice is to aim well, and make sure don't hit the third rail. :giggle:
Click to expand...
Forunately only the subway has 3rd rail there at 30th street, and it's bottom-contact so it's a bit harder!
 
We will be arriving on 98 northbound this AM in 30th Street Station. Never been before. Will try to post when in Hotel. Wish us luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using Tapatalk
 
Chucktin said:
We will be arriving on 98 northbound this AM in 30th Street Station. Never been before. Will try to post when in Hotel. Wish us luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
If you're arriving today, 9/16, you should have no trouble.
 
neroden said:
I love Philadelphia. It's a city, not a theme park. Seeing it completely shut down for *four whole days* is kind of horrifying.
Click to expand...
Saying that Philadelphia will be "completely shut down for four whole days" is kind of silly and disrespectful to the hundreds of thousands of Philadelphia residents who live outside the "traffic box." The "city" is much more than the downtown business/tourist district. It also ignores the fact that most of the closures are only in effect from Friday night until Sunday night.

Yes, it will be inconvenient for people who work downtown over the weekend (M-F workers will see relatively few changes). Yes, it's not a good weekend to be a non-papal tourist in Philly (But seriously, the Liberty Bell's been around for 260 years...I think we can give it a break for a couple of days). And yes, I don't really "get" the Regional Rail service plan.

But "horrifying" is over the top. Really, really over the top.
 
Actually people who live in the city outside of the city and in nearby Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties are effected by this. No it's not disrespectful to say that the city will be shut down for four days.. Cause it's worse then you'd think. People who park in certain areas can't park where they normally park starting Sunday. Most of the city folk are planning on bailing out the city/state. My brother who is effect by this is going to upper NY state. Some guys at work are going on vacation. It looks like the only trains running in the area will be Amtrak and Septa. All freight traffic is severely restricted from what we're being told. So much to the point that things will be messy for a while.
 
And the area around WIL is also going to be affected. We just got an email at work warning us about the heavier than normal traffic & street closures. My office campus is a block north of WIL. Some people will be allowed to work from home, at least 1/2 days, to avoid the mess.
 
I've taken the liberty of editing your post for the purpose of responding. You will notice that I have not deleted any of your original post, merely changed the formatting.

Acela150 said:
1. Actually people who live in the city outside of the city and in nearby Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties are effected by this.

2. No it's not disrespectful to say that the city will be shut down for four days..

3.Cause it's worse then you'd think. People who park in certain areas can't park where they normally park starting Sunday.

4. Most of the city folk are planning on bailing out the city/state. My brother who is effect by this is going to upper NY state. Some guys at work are going on vacation.

5. It looks like the only trains running in the area will be Amtrak and Septa. All freight traffic is severely restricted from what we're being told. So much to the point that things will be messy for a while.
Click to expand...
1. I didn't say they wouldn't be affected. But to imply that neighborhoods outside of city center, as well as suburbs, will be "shut down" is inaccurate. Life will go one more or less uninterrupted for many people in places like Warminster, Levittown and Chester. So, yeah, not a good weekend to hop regional rail into the city. But not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.

2. Whether or not you think it's "disrespectful" is beside the point. It's simply inaccurate. I'm not a current resident of Philadelphia, but I have lived at no less than four different locations in Philly over the years. Of those four, only one of those would be directly affected by the street closures [and I didn't own a car while I lived there anyhow.] Of the jobs I worked while in Philly, NONE of them would have been affected by the mass transit changes...largely because I worked M-F but also because most of the transit routes I used will still be operating. Yes, that's simply my personal experience. And yes, I have no physical impairments that make it difficult to walk a few extra blocks. But the bellyache about the "whole city" being shut down marginalizes the hundreds of thousands of people whose neighborhoods are outside the core.

3. Yes, it is true that "certain areas" will be affected as early as Sunday. Not the entire city. You can go to the city's website to see affected streets. Yes, it's inconvenient if you live in those areas. I think that people outside "certain areas" may soon weary of the complaints coming from those areas. Check out which neighborhoods receive the best city services on an ongoing basis and I think you'll figure out why. Suck it up for a few days, whydontcha? [spoken in my most loving Philadelphia accent.]

4. Leaving town for the weekend? Going on vacation? Horrifying indeed. Sounds a lot like a typical summer weekend, except it's in September. Yawn.

5. No freight trains for a few days? How does this make life inconvenient for a single Philadelphia resident? Railroads deal with blizzards, hurricanes, etc each year and somehow manage to work things out in the end. I think it's great that passenger trains are being given priority. YMMV.
 
Perhaps we could haul back on the throttle somewhat?

Big cities mean big congestion, I get it.

Maybe discussing coping strategy(s) is a better use of time and effort?
 
fairviewroad said:
I've taken the liberty of editing your post for the purpose of responding. You will notice that I have not deleted any of your original post, merely changed the formatting.

Acela150 said:
1. Actually people who live in the city outside of the city and in nearby Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties are effected by this.

2. No it's not disrespectful to say that the city will be shut down for four days..

3.Cause it's worse then you'd think. People who park in certain areas can't park where they normally park starting Sunday.

4. Most of the city folk are planning on bailing out the city/state. My brother who is effect by this is going to upper NY state. Some guys at work are going on vacation.

5. It looks like the only trains running in the area will be Amtrak and Septa. All freight traffic is severely restricted from what we're being told. So much to the point that things will be messy for a while.
Click to expand...
1. I didn't say they wouldn't be affected. But to imply that neighborhoods outside of city center, as well as suburbs, will be "shut down" is inaccurate. Life will go one more or less uninterrupted for many people in places like Warminster, Levittown and Chester. So, yeah, not a good weekend to hop regional rail into the city. But not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.

2. Whether or not you think it's "disrespectful" is beside the point. It's simply inaccurate. I'm not a current resident of Philadelphia, but I have lived at no less than four different locations in Philly over the years. Of those four, only one of those would be directly affected by the street closures [and I didn't own a car while I lived there anyhow.] Of the jobs I worked while in Philly, NONE of them would have been affected by the mass transit changes...largely because I worked M-F but also because most of the transit routes I used will still be operating. Yes, that's simply my personal experience. And yes, I have no physical impairments that make it difficult to walk a few extra blocks. But the bellyache about the "whole city" being shut down marginalizes the hundreds of thousands of people whose neighborhoods are outside the core.

3. Yes, it is true that "certain areas" will be affected as early as Sunday. Not the entire city. You can go to the city's website to see affected streets. Yes, it's inconvenient if you live in those areas. I think that people outside "certain areas" may soon weary of the complaints coming from those areas. Check out which neighborhoods receive the best city services on an ongoing basis and I think you'll figure out why. Suck it up for a few days, whydontcha? [spoken in my most loving Philadelphia accent.]

4. Leaving town for the weekend? Going on vacation? Horrifying indeed. Sounds a lot like a typical summer weekend, except it's in September. Yawn.

5. No freight trains for a few days? How does this make life inconvenient for a single Philadelphia resident? Railroads deal with blizzards, hurricanes, etc each year and somehow manage to work things out in the end. I think it's great that passenger trains are being given priority. YMMV.
Click to expand...
1. The amount of cars that park in those area affected will affect other areas.

2. Currently the most of the major highways in the area will be shut down. Including the Short Kill. 95 will be open with some ramps closed. There has been no talk about Septa busses in the city.

3. The affected area will affect plenty of the city. Parking is already at a premium in that area.

4. September after labor day is actually a decent time to go on a vacation.

5. This was just a general statement.
 
Okay, Acela150, fair enough. I never owned a car while I lived in Philly as it is such an easy place to live car-free. I'm not as receptive to parking issues for that reason. I'll grant you that on-street parking is a challenge in some neighborhoods under normal conditions...though to be fair, some of the people in the affected areas have access to off-street parking, which is not specifically restricted. I still maintain that life will be relatively normal in many neighborhoods that weekend, but yes taken as a whole, the city will certainly be operating under unusual conditions.

As far as SEPTA buses, obviously many of them are affected. Some are diverting to Orange/Green/Blue Line stations that remain open. Others are canceled altogether. Still others are operating normal weekend routes/schedules. You can scroll down to the Bus section here for more info. http://www.septa.org/fares/special-papal-visit-transit.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top