SEPTA Route 34

SEPTA's subway–surface trolley route 34, also called the Baltimore Avenue subway line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) that connects the 13th Street station in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Angora Loop station in the Angora neighborhood of West Philadelphia. From 2024 onwards, Route 34 will be referred to as the T2 Baltimore Avenue Line.

Route 34 Subway–surface trolley line
SEPTA'S Route 34 trolley in the 4500 block of Baltimore Avenue
Overview
Termini	Angora, Philadelphia Center City, Philadelphia
Stations	8 underground stations, 1 surface level station, and 22 street-level stops
Service
System	Subway–surface trolley lines
Depot(s)	Elmwood Carhouse
Daily ridership	12,413 (2019)
Technical
Line length	10.1 mi (16.3 km)
Track gauge	5 ft 2+1⁄4 in (1,581 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Route map SEPTA Main Line to Glenside MFL to Frankford T.C. 13th Street MFL BSL City Hall 15th Street MFL Suburban 19th Street 22nd Street Schuylkill River Northeast Corridor 30th Street Station 30th Street MFL Harrisburg Subdivision NEC/Keystone Corridor 32nd Street Tunnel MFL to 69th Street T.C. 33rd Street  10  to 63rd–Malvern 36th Street 37th Street 40th Street Portal  11   13   36  Woodland Avenue Baltimore & 41st Baltimore & 42nd Diversion tracks to 40th and Market Baltimore & 43rd Baltimore & 44th Baltimore & 45th Baltimore & 46th Baltimore & 47th Baltimore & 48th Baltimore & Florence Baltimore & 49th Non-Revenue Track Baltimore & 50th Baltimore & 51st Baltimore & 52nd former wye on 52nd St. Baltimore & Broomall Baltimore & 53rd Baltimore & 54th Baltimore & 55th Baltimore & 56th Baltimore & 57th Baltimore & 58th WAW Angora Baltimore & 59th Baltimore & 60th 61st – Baltimore Angora Loop

At 10.1 miles (16.3 km), it is the shortest of SEPTA's five subway–surface trolley lines, which operate on street-level tracks in West Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and in a shared subway with rapid transit trains in Center City.

Route description

Starting from its eastern end at the 13th Street station, Route 34 runs in a tunnel under Market Street. It stops at underground stations at 15th Street, 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.

Passengers may transfer free of charge to the Market–Frankford Line at 13th, 15th, and 30th Streets and to the Broad Street Line at 15th Street. Connections to the SEPTA Regional Rail are also available. Underground passageways connect the 13th and 15th Street Stations to Jefferson Station and Suburban Station.

Route 34 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

A 1911 map showing the proposed streetcar Routes 113 and 187, whose tracks would decades later be used by SEPTA's Route 34.

The Delaware County and Philadelphia Electric Railway Company installed transit tracks for horsecars 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.

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. 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 will be rebranded as the "T" lines with a green color and numeric suffixes for each service, and Route 34 would be renamed "T2 Baltimore Avenue." 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.

Neighborhood / location	Images	Station or stop	Connections	Notes
Market East		13th Street	MFL Market–Frankford Line 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 27, 31, 32	Closed between 12:30–5:00am
Penn Center		15th Street	all lines (at Suburban) MFL Market–Frankford Line, BSL Broad Street Line (at City Hall) 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48 124, 125	Late night terminus
		19th Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 17, 31, 38, 44, 48, 62, 78 124
Center City West		22nd Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 7, 31, 44, 62 124, 125	Replaced 24th Street station
University City		30th Street	Amtrak (at 30th Street) NJ Transit: ACL Atlantic City Line (at 30th Street) all lines (at 30th Street) MFL Market–Frankford Line 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 31, 49, LUCY	No direct passage to 30th Street Station
		33rd Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 30, 31, 49, LUCY	Serves Drexel University
		36th Street	11, 13, 36 21	Serves University of Pennsylvania
		37th Street	11, 13, 36 40, 42, LUCY	Serves University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Spruce Hill		40th Street Portal	11, 13, 36 30, 40, 42, LUCY	End of Routes 11 and 13 concurrency
		41st & Baltimore
		42nd & Baltimore	30
		43rd & Baltimore
		44th & Baltimore
		45th & Baltimore
		46th & Baltimore
Cedar Park		47th & Baltimore
		48th & Baltimore (WB)	64
		Florence & Baltimore (EB)	64
		49th & Baltimore	64
		50th & Baltimore
		51st & Baltimore
		52nd & Baltimore (WB)	52
Angora		Broomall & Baltimore (EB)	52
		53rd & Baltimore
		54th & Baltimore
		55th & Baltimore
		56th & Baltimore
		57th & Baltimore
		58th & Baltimore	Media/Wawa Line (at Angora) 46, G
		59th & Baltimore
		60th & Baltimore	46
		61st & Baltimore		Also called Angora Loop

External links

Template:Attached KML/SEPTA Route 34

KML is from Wikidata

• "(Route) 34 (Schedule); Angora To Center City via Baltimore Avenue" (PDF). SEPTA. 2008-08-31. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
• 1974 Philadelphia Trolley Brochure, pages 12-13 and 14-15