34th Street station (Market–Frankford Line)

34th Street station is an underground station on the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, located at the intersection of 34th Street and Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. The station is on the Drexel University campus, adjacent to the Daskalakis Athletic Center, and near the University of Pennsylvania campus and the University City Science Center.

34th Street
Platform signage at the station
Location	34th & Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39.95575°N 75.19132°W
Owned by	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	SEPTA City Bus: 30, 31, 49, LUCY
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Disabled access	Planned[1]
History
Opened	November 6, 1955[2]
Electrified	700 volts DC third rail
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station 40th Street toward 69th Street Market–Frankford Line 30th Street toward Frankford
Former services Preceding station Philadelphia Transportation Company Following station 40th Street toward 69th Street Market Elevated 30th Street toward Frankford
Location
34th Street Location within Philadelphia

The station is also served by SEPTA bus routes 30, 31, 49, and LUCY loops.

History

A westbound train at 34th Street station

34th Street station was opened on November 6, 1955 by the Philadelphia Transportation Company,[2] built to replace the elevated station that opened in 1907 as part of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company's original Market Street subway–elevated line from 69th Street to 15th Street, which was elevated west of 23rd Street.[3][4]

The PRT announced a project to bury the elevated tracks between 23rd to 46th streets in the 1920s.[5] The tunnel from 23rd to 32nd streets was completed by 1933, but construction on the remaining segment was put on hiatus due to the Great Depression and World War II.[5] The PRT went bankrupt in 1939 and was reorganized as the PTC,[6] which began building the rest of the tunnel in 1947.[5]

34th Street is one of three stations on the Market–Frankford Line that is not ADA-accessible, the other two being 11th Street and Spring Garden stations.[7] The addition of elevators in the station was announced in SEPTA's 2021-2032 Capital Program proposal; the station platforms would be rehabilitated and made accessible to passengers with disabilities by 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 million.[1]

Station layout

Unlike most underground Market–Frankford Line stations, 34th Street has a single island platform.

G	Street Level	Entrances/exits, buses
M	Mezzanine	Fare control
P Platform level	Westbound	←      Market–Frankford Line toward 69th Street (40th Street)
	Island platform
	Eastbound	→      Market–Frankford Line toward Frankford (30th Street) →

References

1. "Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Budget and Fiscal Years 2021-2032 Capital Program Proposal" (PDF). SEPTA. April 20, 2020. p. 60. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
2. Cox, Harold E. (1967). May, Jack (ed.). The Road from Upper Darby. The Story of the Market Street Subway-Elevated. New York, NY: Electric Railroaders' Association. p. 32. OCLC 54770701.
3. Springirth, Kenneth C. (2016). Philadelphia Electrified Rail Lines In Color. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. ISBN 978-1-5824-8498-3.
4. John Hepp (2013). "Subways and Elevated Lines". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
5. John L. Puckett. "Putting the Market Street Elevated Underground". West Philadelphia Collaborative History. University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
6. "Studio 34's Eponymous Trolley, or, A Short History of Route 34". Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
7. "Market-Frankford Line Map". SEPTA. 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.

External links

• Media related to 34th Street (SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons
• SEPTA - 34th Street Station
• 34th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View