Technical Tour - Transportation in the Delaware Valley
From a stage coach drawn by two horses back in the 1830s to an intermodal transportation system designed for the future growth of the city, Philadelphia has always been an integral part of the country's transportation system.
With companies like the J.G. Brill and Company and Baldwin Locomotives located in Philadelphia, transit systems in this area have a long history of innovation including the development of, or first-time use of, steam powered engines and passenger cars, horse drawn trolleys, Brill trolleys, subways and elevated railroads, gas powered buses and electric trolleybuses, regional rail and high speed rail.
This area now boasts a transportation system that is multi-dimensional, multi-county, and multi-state, in a variety of forms that crisscross the region and provide a seamless transport experience.
With firsts in freight steamboats, passenger ferry steamboats, public canal companies, railroad companies, tracks and service, and some of the largest locomotive building works, Philadelphia has been a center for the development of these transportation systems. The 90-minute tour will show you the current state of the regional transportation system, SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority which handles over 340 million passengers each year.
SEPTA offers all modes of public transportation including bus, subway, trolley, light rail, commuter rail and paratransit services. The tour will provide attendees an opportunity to visit SEPTA’s state-of-the-art control center where the vehicles for each of these modes are dispatched and managed on a daily basis.
SEPTA’s Control Center tour will consist of an overview of 7 separate areas:
- Bus Operations - Manages the daily operation of over 1200 buses, operating on 123 routes and carrying approximately 500,000 passengers daily.
- Police Dispatch – Provides communication for SEPTA’s 260 uniformed Police Department plus communication with Philadelphia Police and Suburban Municipality Police.
- Rail Transit (Subway/Elevated, Light Rail) – Provides communication and Control for two Subway/Elevated Lines(277,000 Avg. Weekday Passengers) and nine Light Rail Lines (80,000 Avg. Weekday Passengers).
- Paratransit Dispatch – Provides dispatching service for privately contracted operators offering door to door Paratransit service for elderly and disabled riders.
- Power Dispatch – Provide power dispatching for all electrified rail lines. Two independent power networks are utilized: one for DC traction for Subway/Elevated, Light Rail and Trackless Trolley Lines, and one for AC traction for commuter rail lines.
- Railroad Dispatch – Provides communication and control for ten of SEPTA’s 13 commuter rail lines (other three are dispatched and controlled by AMTRAK), with an avg. weekday ridership of 130,000. Also dispatches CSX and NS freight trains.
- Command Center – Centralized incident command center has access to all communication and control systems and is activated during emergencies and provides necessary support to Incident Commanders located in the field.
The objectives of this tour are as following:
- To understand the systems and the people needed to operate each of SEPTA’s modes of transportation and how operational information is disseminated to SEPTA personnel and riders.
- To learn how SEPTA’s Command Center unifies incident command management; and how decision making and communications are achieved from a centralized command center.
- To gain an understanding of the technologies that facilitate remote control systems.
Images are copyright Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. All Rights Reserved.
SEPTA Control Center
