Trips between Harrisburg and New York take approximately 3+1⁄2 hours, including 1+3⁄4 hours between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. There are also several express services that can cut the journey times of both by approximately 15 minutes.[3]
The line is considered higher-speed rail with trains operating at up to 125 miles per hour (200km/h) over parts of the Northeast Corridor and up to 110mph (180km/h) over parts of the Keystone Corridor.[citation needed]
As of 2013[update] it is Amtrak's fifth-busiest route nationally, and the third-busiest among services in the greater Northeast Corridor;[5] in fiscal year 2016, the service carried 1.47 million passengers, an increase of 7.9% over FY2015. Total revenue in FY2016 was $41,123,787, an increase of 7.5% over FY2015.[6] The route is primarily funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).[3]
By the time the PRR merged with Penn Central in 1968, it operated three types of service on the Main Line: commuter service between the suburb of Paoli and Suburban Station via 30th Street Station, regional service (trains numbered in the 600s) between Harrisburg and Suburban Station via 30th Street Station, and express intercity service like the Broadway Limited and Duquesne, which skipped 30th Street Station entirely and used North Philadelphia station as their only Philadelphia stop.[7]
When the Metroliner high-speed program had begun two years earlier, the state had attempted to capitalize on the opportunity to purchase upgraded rolling stock for the 600-series trains. On August 30, 1966, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania announced plans to purchase 11 Metroliners capable of 80mph (130km/h) service to replace the Silverliners then used. The cars were ordered through Philadelphia commuter agency SEPTA, as the state was not permitted to contract directly with the PRR.[8] The state, SEPTA, and PRR reached an agreement on November 3; the state and SEPTA would each pay $2 million, funded mostly by mass transit grants from the newly formed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the PRR would receive a free 15-year lease of the cars. The PRR soon withdrew after complaints from competing Red Arrow Lines and Capitol Trailways, and the HUD grants were later found to be inapplicable to intercity service.[8]
In June 1968, an agreement was reached where the state Transportation Assistance Authority would pay $2 million and Penn Central would pay $2.5 million for the 11 Metroliners for Harrisburg service. On July 14, a 4-car train was tested on the line, with several demonstration runs for officials on August 21.[9] On February 25, 1970, the cars intended for Harrisburg service completed their performance testing. Penn Central refused to accept the cars, citing numerous technical issues with the cars and their general unsuitability for the service. They had slower acceleration than the Silverliners already in service, tended to overheat when making numerous closely spaced stops, and had difficulty climbing the grade out of Suburban Station. Additionally, the corridor lacked high-level platforms to effectively use the cars, and 15 substations would require expensive modifications.[10] The 11 cars were unused for some time before Penn Central ultimately decided to lease the cars for use on the core New York–Washington service. They were moved back to the Budd plant for modifications in April. In July 1970, the state authorized $100,000 to upgrade existing Silverliners for the Harrisburg service instead.[10]
When Amtrak was created to take over intercity passenger rail service in 1971, there was substantial debate about whether some trains constituted intercity services (to be either taken over by Amtrak or discontinued, relieving private companies like Penn Central of the financial burden) or commuter services (to be retained by the private companies unless discontinuance was approved by the ICC). Penn Central alleged that several of its regional services – the 600-series trains, connecting Lancaster–York buses, Clockers, and New York–Chatham service – were intercity services that could be discontinued since they were not included in Amtrak's initial system.[citation needed]
On March 31, 1971, Penn Central filed with ICC to discontinue the 600-series trains at the conclusion of their contract with SEPTA on June 30.[11] The state filed suit against Penn Central on April 7 to stop the discontinuance. On April 23, Penn Central filed in District Court to discontinue the regional services.[11] Five days later, the state and the UTU filed an opposing suit, calling the trains a commuter service. On April 30, Judge John P. Fullam ordered Penn Central to continue operating the trains and ultimately referred the case to the ICC.[11]
When Amtrak took over intercity service on May 1, 1971, the 600-series trains continued to be operated by Penn Central, though they were listed in Amtrak schedules.[12] The city of Philadelphia and the state both preferred to have Penn Central rather than Amtrak operate the service, as Amtrak was exempt from state control. On June 21, the ICC ruled that the service was not intercity rail, as sought by the state and not by Penn Central.[11] On August 3, Fullam ordered Penn Central to continue operating the regional services.[11]
On October 29, 1972, after further negotiations with Penn Central, Amtrak took over operation of the 600-series trains as Silverliner Service, named for the Silverliner cars used to run the trains.[13][14] Amtrak assumed formal responsibility for the Silverliner Service and Clockers around April 1974.[15] Penn Central (and later Conrail and finally SEPTA Regional Rail) continued to operate Paoli–Philadelphia commuter service. Amtrak took over ticketing for the Silverliner Service and Clockers from Penn Central on July 1, 1975.[16] On October 26, 1975, SEPTA funded an increase from 9 to 11 daily round trips.[16] Amtrak began including a listing of connecting trains to/from New York City in the November 1975 timetable.[17]
Declining service
A Keystone Service train of Metroliners at Downingtown in 1985
In the late 1970s, NJDOT's new Arrow III railcars arrived several years ahead of the completion of electrification projects to allow their use in New Jersey commuter service. By this time, Amtrak was desperate for electric propulsion, as the aging GG1 locomotives were nearing the end of their usefulness, replacement E60 locomotives were proving unreliable, and new EMD AEM-7 locomotives were only just beginning to arrive. In April 1978, Amtrak leased 70 of NJDOT's Arrow II cars for use on the Clockers, Keystone Service, and the new Chesapeake.[18] By January 1979, the Arrows were rotated between the Clockers and Silverliner Service. The Arrows had bathrooms and water fountains, making them more suitable for regional service than the Silverliners.[19] In late 1980, under pressure from NJDOT, Amtrak returned all but 32 of the Arrows, which quickly created the need to find other rolling stock for the Silverliner Service. Despite being pronounced unsuitable for Harrisburg service a decade before, the Metroliners were the only easily available rolling stock, as they were being slowly retired from the eponymous service. A test run with Metroliners was made on January 20, 1981, and Metroliners were used in revenue service for two weeks in February.[20] Metroliners were used on the New York – Harrisburg Valley Forge for a week in August, and a maintenance facility at Harrisburg opened on October 13, 1981.[20]
As the new AEM-7 locomotives continued to arrive, Amtrak assigned them to haul crack Metroliner trains with Amfleet consists, and reassigned the less-reliable Metroliners for the secondary Philadelphia–Harrisburg service, dubbing them Capitoliners.[21] On October 25, 1981, the service was rebranded as Keystone Service.[22][20] All service was then operated by the Metroliners, which lacked the quick acceleration of the Silverliners or Arrows, making them unsuitable for the service.[20] After a single Metroliner set was withdrawn from Clocker service in March 1982, the Keystone Service was the only remaining use of the Metroliners.[20] On April 24, 1983, a pair of weekday trains – the 9:54am arrival and 3:55pm departure from Suburban Station – were renamed Keystone Executive. Intended to attract riders from the western end of the corridor, the trains made intermediate stops only at Lancaster, Downingtown, and 30th Street, with a 99-minute schedule.[23]
The first westbound train of the morning made numerous local stops for commuters to Harrisburg, including some at stations not served by any other Amtrak train. This was first shown in the April 29, 1973, schedule.[24] These one-off stops were gradually dropped: Merion in 1979; 52nd Street and Berwyn in 1980; Radnor and Narberth in 1982; and Bryn Mawr, Overbrook, and Wayne in 1987.[citation needed] Amtrak and SEPTA opened a station in Exton on November 2, 1981, to serve fast-growing suburban areas.[20]
Diesel-powered Keystone Service train at Harrisburg in 2002
The Silverliner Service carried over one million passengers in 1980, but ridership was in steep decline due to a variety of factors.[7] On October 30, 1983, Amtrak reduced the service from 11 to 9 weekday round trips, prompting an 8% drop in ridership.[20][25] A decrease to 6 weekday round trips on January 12, 1986, and 5 round trips on April 27, cut ridership by an additional 45%.[20][25] The cuts included the termination of the Keystone Executive.[26] Despite the loss of service, fares doubled from 1980 to 1987.[7] The single SEPTA round trip past Paoli to Downingtown was cut in 1983, but two round trips were restored in March 1985, with additional midday and weekend service added in 1988. Service was further extended to Parkesburg in 1990, with lower fares than Amtrak.[7] By 1990, SEPTA carried 595,000 passengers west of Paoli, twice that of Amtrak's ridership on the entire Keystone Service.[25]
The Metroliner cars, worn out from nearly two decades of heavy use, began to fail frequently. In April 1985, Amtrak began studying the possibility of removing electrification west of Paoli.[20] On-time performance decreased from around 85% in 1985 to below 60% in early 1988.[7] On January 25, 1988, Amtrak began towing the Metroliner cars with AEM-7 locomotives rather than running them under their own power, although the cars had their pantographs up to power lighting and heating systems.[20] A wreck of the Night Owl four days later took two AEM-7 locomotives out of commission, exacerbating a shortage of electric power available to Amtrak.[27] On February 1, Amtrak converted all Keystone Service trains to diesel power and terminated them on the lower level of 30th Street Station, as diesel-powered trains were not allowed in the tunnels to Suburban Station.[20] The change was listed as "temporary" on timetables starting on May 15, 1988, and lasting into 1990.[28][29] After dieselization and the lengthening of schedules, on-time performance began to consistently exceed 90%.[7]
The Valley Forge in 1975. Boston service not shown.
At its inception on May 1, 1971, Amtrak ran two through services on the line: the combined New York–Chicago Broadway Limited and New York–St. Louis Spirit of St. Louis (soon renamed National Limited), and the Pittsburgh–New York Duquesne (soon renamed Keystone). The former train stopped only at Lancaster and Paoli between Harrisburg and North Philadelphia; it was intended for long-distance travelers between the East Coast and the Midwest rather than local passengers. The Duquesne/Keystone had one additional stop at Coatesville and was intended for medium-distance intercity travel.[12]
Amtrak discontinued the Keystone on April 30, 1972, leaving the 600-series trains as the only local service along their route. The Broadway Limited and National Limited were split; they added local stops west of Harrisburg, but passengers from between Harrisburg and Philadelphia had to change trains at Harrisburg, Lancaster, Paoli, or Philadelphia to reach stops west of Harrisburg or north of Philadelphia.[30]:64 On October 28, 1973, Amtrak changed the weekday-only Valley Forge from a Philadelphia–New Haven local train to a Harrisburg–New York City train. It only made the same intermediate stops as the Keystone, including no direct service to 30th Street Station.[31] However, its introduction meant that through passengers no longer had to change at Philadelphia or rely on the Broadway Limited, whose on-time performance had plunged to just 6.8% in 1973.[30]:20
Additional local stops in Pennsylvania were later added. On May 19, 1974, Amtrak added weekend service on the Valley Forge: a Saturday train from Harrisburg to Boston, and a Sunday train from Boston to Harrisburg.[15] The weekend service ended on October 26, 1975.[16] On October 28, 1979, Amtrak and SEPTA began the "Ardmore Connection": the Valley Forge began stopping at Ardmore, where a close connection could be made with a SEPTA Paoli–Philadelphia local train.[19] On December 17, 1979, the westbound Valley Forge began stopping at 30th Street rather than bypassing it using the Pittsburgh Subway; however, it retained the Ardmore stop.[19][32]
The Washington sections of the Broadway Limited and National Limited originally split at Harrisburg and reached the Northeast Corridor via the Port Road Branch. The Washington section of the Broadway Limited was rerouted through Philadelphia on October 26, 1975; the National Limited followed suit on October 29, 1978.[30]:41,62 The National Limited was discontinued entirely on October 1, 1979; the state began funding the Pittsburgh–Philadelphia Pennsylvanian as a replacement on April 27, 1980.[30]:75
Harrisburg-bound Keystone Service train at Downingtown in 2018, with locomotive at the rear of the train
At the same time, a pair of Clockers, the westbound Keystone and eastbound Big Apple, were extended to Harrisburg on weekends.[20] They ran within an hour of the Valley Forge's weekday schedule; however, they ran to 30th Street and Suburban stations rather than only serving North Philadelphia.[33] The Keystone was renamed Susquehanna on October 25, 1981.[22] The Big Apple and Susquehanna dropped the Suburban Station stop a year later, but continued to serve 30th Street.[34] On October 30, 1983, the Pennsylvanian was extended to New York City, eliminating the transfer at Philadelphia (although it continued to stop at 30th Street).[35] On January 12, 1986, the eastbound Valley Forge began serving 30th Street (as the westbound had for six years); this allowed it to effectively replace a canceled Keystone Service train (#600, the first morning eastbound) to serve commuters.[20][26]
Amtrak began operating the Atlantic City–Philadelphia Atlantic City Express in 1989, and later extended it along several busy corridors in hopes of increasing ridership. On April 4, 1991, one daily Keystone Service round trip was extended to Atlantic City under the Atlantic City Express brand. Only a weekend round trip continued to be through-routed. The Atlantic City Express was discontinued on April 2, 1995; New Jersey TransitAtlantic City Line trains continue to serve 30th Street Station.[36]
Modern improvements
An eastbound Keystone Service train arriving at the rebuilt Exton station in 2021
In November 1996, as part of a general cutback of Regional Rail service, SEPTA cut service back to Downingtown, leaving Parkesburg and Coatesville as Amtrak-only stations.[37] Amtrak added the stations to several existing round trips as a result.[38] Amtrak discontinued its stops at Whitford and Malvern (both served only by a single round trip) on April 5, 1998, reducing the number of suburban stations shared by SEPTA and Keystone Service trains to four.[39]
Beginning in 2000, Amtrak and PennDOT spent $166 million to rehabilitate the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line. This included the restoration of fully electrified service, as well as track improvements for a top speed of 110 miles per hour (180km/h). When the project was completed and electric service began in October 2006, travel times between Harrisburg and Philadelphia were reduced from 120 minutes to 95 minutes, with further time savings for through trains by eliminating the need for an engine change at Philadelphia. Service was also increased from 11 to 14 daily round trips. By FY 2010, ridership was up 91% since FY 2000 and 58% since FY 2006.[40]
Later improvements aimed to develop a sealed corridor without public at-grade crossings, which would allow future speed increases to 125 miles per hour (201km/h) west of Philadelphia.[41] The last two such at-grade crossings on the line, located just east of Mount Joy, were closed on September 24, 2014. They were replaced with a bridge connecting to a nearby street.[42] However, private crossings continued to be used on the line. One private crossing east of Mount Joy was closed soon after a train collided with a tractor using the crossing.[43] Today, only one private crossing remains on the line, west of Lancaster on a private roadway leading to a substation.
On March 18, 2020, Amtrak temporarily suspended all Keystone Service trains due to declining demand because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[44][45] Service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg resumed on June 1, 2020, with all-reserved seating.[46] On July 6, 2020, Amtrak restored one Keystone Service train in each direction running the full route between New York City and Harrisburg.[47] Amtrak restored full service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg on September 8, 2020.[48] On January 4, 2021, Amtrak reduced service levels along the Keystone Service due to decreased ridership caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the reduction in service, the Keystone Service had seven roundtrips on weekdays and six roundtrips on weekends between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, with three daily roundtrips running the full route between New York City and Harrisburg.[49] Most pre-pandemic service was restored on April 25, 2022, with eleven weekday Philadelphia–Harrisburg round trips.[50]
From March to November 2021, midday Keystone Service trains were replaced with buses west of Lancaster to allow for track work.[51][52]
Most Keystone Service trains consist of five cars – four Amfleet I coaches plus a Metrolinercab car – paired with a Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotive. The service has a single class of service, coach class, configured with 2x2 seating.[54] Trains are unreserved between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and reserved coaches between Philadelphia and New York.[55] Unlike most Amtrak routes, no food service is available on Keystone Service trains.
In the late 2020s and early 2030s, all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive.[56] The trainsets for the Keystone Service will have six passenger cars, which will include a food service area and a mix of 2x2 coach class and 2x1 business class seating.[57] The car closest to the locomotive will be a specialized "Auxiliary Power Vehicle" which will include a pantograph to collect power from overhead lines and traction motors in the car and the locomotive.[58]
Before the signal, track, and catenary upgrades that were completed in October 2006, Keystone Service trains used GE Genesis diesel locomotives between Harrisburg and Philadelphia.
Route
Map of the Keystone Service route
The Keystone Service operates entirely over Amtrak-owned trackage:
On weekdays there are thirteen Keystone trains and one Pennsylvanian train in each direction. All trains run between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, with nine Keystone trains plus the Pennsylvanian continuing on to New York. There are eight round-trip trains on both Saturdays and Sundays. All but one, including the Pennsylvanian, make the full trip between Harrisburg and New York. On the majority of the trains, the journey between Harrisburg and New York takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes, including 1 hour and 45 minutes to travel between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. There are also several express trains which cut both journey times by approximately 15 minutes each.[3]
The Metroliners were extra-fare high-speed trains between Washington, D.C., and New York City which operated from 1969 to 2006. They were briefly first operated by Penn Central Transportation, then by Amtrak for 35 years.
The Pennsylvanian is a 444-mile (715 km) daily daytime Amtrak train running between New York City and Pittsburgh via Philadelphia. The trains travel across the Appalachian Mountains, through Pennsylvania's capital Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, suburban and central Philadelphia, and New Jersey en route to New York. The entire train ride takes about 9 hours total: 1.5 hours between New York and Philadelphia, 2 hours between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and 5.5 hours between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite towns and cities. It is the sixth-busiest commuter railroad in the United States. In 2016, the Regional Rail system had an average of 132,000 daily riders and 118,800 daily riders as of 2019.
Suburban Station is an art deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center in Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the three core Center City stations on the SEPTA Regional Rail and one of the busiest stations in the Regional Rail System.
The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main line, which hosts SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line commuter rail service, and Amtrak's Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian inter-city trains; and the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line. The corridor was originally the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The Trenton Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail system. The route serves the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with service in Bucks County along the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey.
The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and Newark, Delaware. It is the longest of the 13 SEPTA Regional Rail lines.
Overbrook station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station on the Paoli/Thorndale Line, located near 63rd Street and City Line Avenue in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves many of the residents of Overbrook Farms and the suburban neighborhoods across City Avenue in neighboring Montgomery County, as well as Saint Joseph's University and Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. Overbrook has two low-level side platforms with pathways connecting the platforms to the inner tracks.
Merion station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station on the Paoli/Thorndale Line, located in Merion, Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia. Merion has two low-level side platforms with pathways connecting the platforms to the inner tracks.
Malvern station is a SEPTA Regional Rail and a former Amtrak station in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Located at West King Road and North Warren Avenue, it serves most Paoli/Thorndale Line trains. Until 1998, some Keystone Service trains stopped here as well.
Lancaster station is an Amtrak railroad station and a former Pennsylvania Railroad station in Lancaster, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located on the Keystone Corridor, the station is served by the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg, and by the Pennsylvanian between New York and Pittsburgh. Lancaster is the second busiest Amtrak station in Pennsylvania, and the twenty-first busiest in the United States. It is one of the busiest Amtrak stations serving a metropolitan area smaller than two million people, primarily because of the large number of passengers traveling to and from Philadelphia and points east.
Elizabethtown station is an Amtrak railroad station on the Keystone Corridor in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The station is served by Amtrak's Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg, and by the Pennsylvanian between New York and Pittsburgh. The station was built in 1915 by the Pennsylvania Railroad to replace another that had been built in 1900. The station building was closed in 1977 by Amtrak. The title to the building was transferred to the borough of Elizabethtown in 1998, and it was leased back to Amtrak. From 2009 to 2011, the station underwent a 21-month renovation to make it handicapped-accessible.
Middletown station is an Amtrak train station on the Keystone Corridor in Middletown, Dauphin County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The station is served by Amtrak's Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg. The former low-level station was built in 1990, but a relocated station with a high-level platform opened on January 10, 2022.
The Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by Amtrak in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. This is the only electrified Amtrak line in the United States outside of the main line of the Northeast Corridor. The line runs from Philadelphia, where it meets the Northeast Corridor at Zoo Junction at milepost 1.9, west to Harrisburg, where electrification ends. The Main Line is part of the longer Keystone Corridor, which continues west to Pittsburgh along the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line. This section is sometimes referred to as "Keystone East" and is part of Amtrak's Keystone Service.
The Budd Metroliner was a class of American electric multiple unit (EMU) railcar designed for first-class, high-speed service between New York City and Washington, D.C., on the Northeast Corridor. They were designed for operation up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h): what would have been the first high speed rail service in the Western Hemisphere. Although 164 mph (264 km/h) was reached during test runs, track conditions and electrical issues limited top speeds to 120 mph (190 km/h) in revenue service. The single-ended units were designed to be arranged in two-car sets, which were in turn coupled into four to eight-car trains.
The Media/Wawa Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service that runs from Center City Philadelphia west to Wawa in Delaware County. It uses the West Chester Branch, which connects with the SEPTA Main Line at 30th Street Station. Under the Pennsylvania Railroad, service continued to West Chester, Pennsylvania. On September 19, 1986, however, service was truncated to Elwyn.
The Paoli/Thorndale Line, commonly known as the Main Line, is a SEPTA Regional Rail service running from Center City Philadelphia through Montgomery County and Delaware County to Thorndale in Chester County. It operates along the far eastern leg of Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, which in turn was once the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and is now part of the Keystone Corridor, a federally-designated high-speed rail corridor.
The Cynwyd Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line from Center City Philadelphia to Cynwyd in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Ivy Ridge Line, service was truncated on May 17, 1986, at its current terminus at Cynwyd.
The Chestnut Hill West Line is a commuter rail line in the SEPTA Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, West Mount Airy, and Germantown, to Center City.
The Chesapeake was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak along the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1978 to 1983. It was one of the few commuter trains operated by Amtrak.
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13.7% [a] [1] 
