The Broad History of The Broad Street Line

Wednesday, August 14 2024

Broad Street, the avenue of the arts, is one of the most iconic arteries in Philadelphia's street grid. And just like the street above it, the Broad Street Line is just as important, running straight down the city from Fern Rock Transportation Center to NRG Station at the Sports Complex. Opened in 1928, the El’s younger counterpart, the Broad Street Line, also has a similarly rich history that paralleled the transformation of the city it runs below.

The idea for the Broad Street Line, or Orange Line, dates back to the early 20th century when Philadelphia's rapid population and industrial expansion called for a more efficient mode of transportation—one in the opposite direction to the El. The city's trolley lines, the dominating web of transit networks at the time, were becoming increasingly congested. So, Philly needed a faster, more reliable subway system that would alleviate surface traffic just like the El did, this time from running North to South. And boy, would it be fast. 

Construction of the Broad Street Line began in 1924, being built by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT). Unlike the El, the Broad Street Line involved extremely intensive tunneling beneath Broad Street, and the line would be essentially all underground. 

The first segment of the Broad Street Line, running from City Hall to Olney Avenue, opened on September 1, 1928. The initial 6.5-mile stretch featured 10 stations and was an immediate success, quickly becoming a backbone of the city's transit system. The line's impact was profound, slashing travel times between North Philadelphia and Center City.

The inside of a Broad Street Line train car at Fern Rock Transportation Center. This train in particular, was the Broad Ridge Spur, and across the platform was the Broad Street Line Local train.

The plan was for it to run a four-tracked system—like the ones in New York, for its entire line. But like many city propositions in Philadelphia, it didn’t quite happen; express tracks were only built from Olney Ave. to Walnut-Locust Sts. These express tracks are incredibly fast, though, barrelling underneath Broad Street with a top speed of 70mph, putting the automobile traffic above it to shame. 

Over the next few decades, the Broad Street Line expanded further south. The extension to, get this, South Street in 1930 and the subsequent extension to Snyder Avenue in 1938 extended the line deeper into good ol’ South Philly. Then, in the 1970s, the opening of the Fern Rock Transportation Center in the north and the Pattison Station (now NRG Station) in the south brought the line to its current length of 10 miles.

But there’s more. The Broad Ridge Spur, a service pattern on the Broad Street Line, runs from Olney Transportation Center in the North but deviates off Broad Street onto Ridge Avenue and 8th Sts at Girard Avenue and terminates at 8th and Market Sts. However, this seemingly useless branch off the Broad Street Line was actually part of a much larger plan to build a center city loop, like the one they have in Chicago—but of course, it never happened. Also, the Broad Street line was built with provisions for a Roosevelt Boulevard subway extending upwards to serve Northeast Philadelphia and terminate in Neshaminy—which also never happened. 

You can never get away from the Broad Street Line. Hearing the whirr of the tracks as trains race below and the ear-piercing screeches under City Hall,  the Broad Street Line continues to provide a fast, efficient, and reliable means of transportation for locals, being the second most popular transit line in Philadelphia behind the El. So, the next time you head down to NRG to see a Phillies game, just know that the subway you’re in is living, breathing, history. 

Bibliography

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