The T2 (Baltimore Avenue line) is a
trolley line operated by the
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) that connects the
13th Street station in downtown
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, to the
Angora Loop station in the
Angora neighborhood of
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...
.
At , it is the shortest of the
SEPTA Metro
SEPTA Metro is an urban rail transit network in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The network includes two rapid transit lines, a light metro line, ...
's five
T branches, which operate on street-level
tracks in West Philadelphia and
Delaware County,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and in a shared subway with
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
trains in
Center City.
Route description
Starting from its eastern end at the 13th Street station, the T2 runs in a tunnel under
Market Street. It stops at underground stations at
15th Street 15th Street may refer to:
* 15th Street station (SEPTA), an American rapid transit station in Philadelphia
* 15th Street – Prospect Park (IND Culver Line), a local station on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway
* Fifteenth Street, a ...
,
19th Street,
22nd Street,
30th Street, and
33rd Street. From 15th to 30th Streets, it runs on the outer tracks in the same tunnel as SEPTA's
Market–Frankford Line
The L, formerly known as the Market–Frankford Line, is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The L runs from the 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby, just outside of West Philad ...
.
Passengers may transfer free of charge to the Market–Frankford Line at 13th, 15th, and 30th Streets and to the
Broad Street Line
The B, formerly known as the Broad Street Line (BSL), is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs primarily north-south from the Fern Rock Transit Center in North Philadelphi ...
at 15th Street. Connections to the
SEPTA Regional Rail
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 town ...
are also available. Underground passageways connect the 13th and 15th Street Stations to
Jefferson Station and
Suburban Station
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 t ...
.
The T2 surfaces at the
40th Street Portal near 40th Street and
Baltimore Avenue (
US 13), then heads west on Baltimore until it ends at a loop at 61st Street.
History
The Delaware County and Philadelphia Electric Railway Company installed transit tracks for
horsecar
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...
s running along Baltimore Avenue as early as 1890, but it was the arrival of the electrified trolley two years later that allowed the extension of the line westward to the new community of Angora.
[In 1894, the line was extended to ]Media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
.
The line was routed into the subway–surface tunnel on December 15, 1906. The route was called the Angora Line until it was given the number 34 in 1911.
In April 2020, the line's operations were suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Service resumed on May 17, 2020.
In 2021, SEPTA proposed rebranding their rail transit service as "SEPTA Metro", in order to make the system easier to navigate. Under this proposal, the subway–surface lines were rebranded as the "T" with a green color and numeric suffixes for each service. Route 34 was renamed as the "T2".
SEPTA described that "most comments were positive" in the public comment period for this rebranding project.
Stations and stops
All are in the
City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
References
External links
*
1974 Philadelphia Trolley Brochure, pages 12–13an
{{SEPTA , state=autocollapse
T2
Tram routes in Philadelphia