Penn Medicine station (formerly University City station) is a train station in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the SEPTA Regional Rail system. The station serves the area around the University of Pennsylvania, and is located at South Street and Convention Avenue. Located on the West Chester Branch, it serves the Airport, Wilmington/Newark, Media/Wawa, Manayunk/Norristown, Warminster, and West Trenton Regional Rail services. In 2013, this station saw 3,091 boardings and 2,950 alightings on an average weekday.[5]
![]() Penn Medicine station platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 3149 Convention Boulevard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 39°56′52″N 75°11′25″W / 39.94784°N 75.19034°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | SEPTA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | West Chester Branch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | 10 rack spaces[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | CC[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous names | University City Penn Medicine–University City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017 | 2,605 boardings, 2,518 alightings (weekday average)[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | 5 of 146 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The station is less than a block from the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field and the Palestra. It is one block away from the medical campuses of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The rest of the University of Pennsylvania campus, Drexel University campus, and the Graduate Hospital campus and the neighborhood across the Schuylkill River are also nearby and easily accessible.
History
editUniversity City station was conceived in 1979 by the City of Philadelphia as Civic Center, under which name it appeared as proposed" on SEPTA informational maps of the 1980s. The name had been abandoned by the time construction began in 1991. The station instead opened with the regionally descriptive name of University City on April 24, 1995.[6]
The station has a blue and red color scheme, a nod to Penn's colors.
On January 27, 2020, SEPTA announced that the station would be renamed Penn Medicine Station after selling naming rights to Penn Medicine for $3.3 million in a 5-year deal.[7]
Routes served
editSince its inception, the station has been a stop for all trains on the five SEPTA rail lines which pass through the station, including rush-hour express trains on the Wilmington/Newark and Media/Wawa lines; thus it has a high level of service at all times.[6] Even though not all lines serve it, Penn Medicine is listed in timetables and other SEPTA literature as one of the five Center City Philadelphia (CCP) stations, and falls within the CCP Regional Rail fare zone.
The station is also served by SEPTA bus route 40 which runs along South Street, and bus routes 30, 42, 49, and the LUCY Green Loop from the nearby corner of Convention Avenue and Health Sciences Drive.
In popular culture
editThe station made a brief appearance in the movie Unbreakable as Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) falls down the stairs to the platform. It is portrayed as a subway station with turnstiles in the movie, though in reality the station had no turnstiles at the time of filming, as "Rotogate" turnstiles were installed at the Spruce St. entrance in May 2017 in preparation for SEPTA Key Deployment on Regional Rail. The Convention Avenue entrance has regular height turnstiles and ADA gates.
Station layout
editPenn Medicine has one high-level island platform serving both tracks.
References
edit- ^ "Penn Medicine Station". SEPTA. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ "Wilmington/Newark Line Timetable" (PDF). SEPTA. April 16, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
- ^ "Fare Zone Map" (PDF). SEPTA.
- ^ "Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update". SEPTA. June 2020. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "SEPTA (May 2014). Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Service Plan. p. 61" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 12, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2017. (539 KB)
- ^ a b Rubin, Daniel (April 21, 1995). "University City Rail Station To Open Monday". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ Madej, Patricia (January 27, 2020). "SEPTA's University City Station to become Penn Medicine Station in $3.3 million deal". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 27, 2020.