Police ready for Eagles fans at packed transit stations
SEPTA had 50,000 special $10 Independence passes for use on the regional rails by fans headed downtown for the Eagles Super Bowl Parade. They didn’t last long.
The transit agency announced at 1 p.m. Wednesday that all 50,00 passes were sold, leaving a lot of people who had been trying to buy one since they went on sale Tuesday night frustrated and considering other options to get downtown for the parade.
Frustrated riders spent hours in line at some stations Tuesday
night at stations from the Main Line to Media. People stood in line at the Paoli Train Station for hours Tuesday night. The same thing happened Wednesday morning in stations. Lots of riders were still in line Wednesday morning when they ran out of tickets.
And even those who have managed to snag the prized passes are not guaranteed a seat on a train, SEPTA officials stressed. Once trains are full, they will proceed directly into the city without stopping at other stations. SEPTA urges riders to board the earlier trains and at the outermost spots, before trains fill up.
A few other tips. Much as was the case with the pope’s visit in 2015, those using commuter trains will sitting or standing in crowded cars and then doing a lot of walking once they arrive at either Jefferson or 30th
Street Station. Dress for the occasion. Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers to keep warm. They also will need to be prepared to walk.
In preparation for SEPTA riders heading into Philadelphia to celebrate the Eagles Super bowl victory parade, Lansdale Police
Department is working in collaboration with SEPTA to provide safe and orderly transportation both in Lansdale as well as in Philadelphia. In order to control the number of passengers boarding in either Lansdale station (Lansdale Main and Pennbrook only — no boarding at 9th Street Station), all riders must pre-purchase a ticket either through SEPTA’s website or at the Lansdale Station — please
note that at time of publication, all tickets have been SOLD OUT.
For those who have purchased tickets, parking for the Lansdale Station (Main Street) is available at the SEPTA Garage and on the surface lots, roughly 600 spaces. To promote safety for riders as well as vehicular traffic, the Main Street entrance to the Lansdale Train Station will be closed. All access to the station will be from West Fifth Street.
Signage and Officers will be posted in key locations to direct vehicular traffic to the entrance on Fifth Street.
For those passengers parking at Pennbrook Station the lot at Church Road, former Merck parking lot, will be open for vehicle parking as well. Officers will be stationed to assist pedestrians at the station as well as direct vehicles to open spaces. Please note that all municipal parking lots will be enforced as usual so any vehicles parked without or expired payment are subject to ticketing.
For those ticketed passengers, the schedule below shows when trains will depart the Lansdale and Pennbrook stations:
LANSDALE: first train at 5:15 a.m. — no service after approximately 8:22 a.m.
PENNBROOK: first train at 5:17 a.m. — no service after approximately 8:26 a.m.
An important travel note is that when trains are full before stopping at all open stations on their line, they will proceed directly to the city.
To accommodate for an influx of passengers local police departments have made detailed parking regulations and increased police presence at the stations within their communities to keep everyone safe and to keep traffic flowing.