Frankford Junction is a railroad junction, and former junction station, located on the border between the Harrowgate neighborhood of Philadelphia and

Frankford, Philadelphia Frankford is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles (10 km) northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of Frankfor ...

. At the junction, the 4-track

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

line from Trenton connects with the 2-track

Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...

from Atlantic City in the northeastern portion of Philadelphia about northeast of

North Philadelphia station North Philadelphia station is an intercity rail and regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located on North Broad Street in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Southeastern Pennsy ...

. It lies near the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Butler Street, to the west of the interchange between

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

and the approach to the

Betsy Ross Bridge The Betsy Ross Bridge, also known as the Ross Memorial Bridge, is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, dur ...

. It has been used for rail transportation since 1832 but has not served as a station since October 4, 1992.

Overview

The junction has seen a mass of freight and passenger service throughout its existence. In 1832 the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad (P&T) was formed and started service with a small yard. The line extended southwest of the junction and on to destinations north. In 1871 the railroad was leased by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR). During this time a new branch was formed, namely the Tioga Street Branch, consisting of trackage running down the middle of Tioga Street. The branch was later sold to the Kensington and Tacony Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated the Connecting Railway (part of today's

) that carried trains to the south. Through time the junction passed from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

and finally to

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

. During the era of the PRR they operated the ''Congressional'', which passed through the junction. Amtrak now operates the ''

Acela Express The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, inclu ...

'' and ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busi ...

'' through the junction, although the 4° turn through it imposes the second-lowest speed limit along the Northeast Corridor line of . The junction started to dwindle as a station in its older years, with the last service coming from

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

(SEPTA) in the 1990s along the

Trenton Line The Trenton Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail ( commuter rail) system. The route serves the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with service in Bucks County along the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey. Route Trento ...

(formerly known as the R7 Line). The junction still sees many trains, both freight and passenger, none of which serve the station platforms that still exist. Today the original P&T line still stretches for a few city blocks, terminating abruptly at Ann Street. It is still used for local freight service. A

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do bus ...

freight line splits from the Northeast Corridor at this location and continues to New Jersey via the

Delair Bridge The Delair Bridge (officially the Delair Memorial Railroad Bridge) is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy ...

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

maintains the

through the junction that serves

30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

to Atlantic City Rail Terminal with local service daily. Amtrak and SEPTA pass through on the Northeast Corridor. There is an abandoned track that used to be for local freight on the north side of the junction. The switching yard is still maintained with continuously decreasing service.

Accidents

On September 6, 1943, a deadly accident occurred when an axle detached from a train as the result of an undiscovered

hot box A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid-20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked ...

, causing it to derail. 79 people were killed and more were injured. On May 12, 2015, Amtrak Northeast Regional #188 from Washington DC to New York derailed as it was traversing Frankford Junction. Eight people were killed.

References

{{SEPTA Regional Rail stations Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Rail transportation in Philadelphia Rail junctions in the United States Former SEPTA Regional Rail stations Stations on the Northeast Corridor Former railway stations in Philadelphia Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations

Overview

Accidents

See also

References