page_title: Market–Frankford Line
section_title: Reconstruction
hierarchical_section_title: Market–Frankford Line / History / Reconstruction
caption_attribution_description: SEPTA Adtranz M-4 1179 leads a Market-Frankford Line train bound for 69th Street Transportation Center into 11th Street station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
context_page_description: The Market–Frankford Line is one of two rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the two lines are operated by SEPTA. The Market-Frankford Line runs from the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, just outside of West Philadelphia, through Center City Philadelphia to the Frankford Transportation Center in Near Northeast Philadelphia. With more than 180,000 boardings on an average weekday, it is the busiest route in the SEPTA system. The line has both elevated and underground portions along its full length.
context_section_description: Between 1988 and 2003, SEPTA undertook a $493.3 million complete reconstruction of the Frankford side of the Market–Frankford Line between Frankford Transportation Center and the 2nd Street portal. The new Frankford Elevated was built with new stringers and deck installed on the original columns, thus giving not only a reduction in cost, but also reducing the street-level impact on adjoining neighborhoods. The old ballasted trackage was replaced with a direct fixation system. In addition to the new Elevated structure, all of the stations were replaced with new stations with higher boarding platforms and elevators, allowing customers with disabilities to easily board and depart from Market-Frankford trains. The reconstruction of the Frankford Elevated structure was mostly complete by 2000, with the exception of the elevated section from Dyre Street (just to the south of the Bridge-Pratt terminal) to the Frankford Yard entrance. The basic design of the bearings of the reconstructed Frankford elevated, however, was not appropriate for the repetitive loading from the train traffic. The bearing design did not take into consideration the interaction of the concrete haunches with the steel stringers when loaded by the passing train; and the concrete has started to fracture and drop onto the street below. The problem was first discovered in 1997, but at that time was simply attributed to faulty construction, without evaluation of the root cause. As a temporary fix, SEPTA has installed 10,000 metal mesh belts on the underside of the structure. Estimates for a permanent fix placed the cost at about $20 million, and SEPTA has filed suit against the engineering companies that contributed to the design flaw to recover part of the repair cost. Work on the permanent fix is currently underway.
  SEPTA then undertook a $567 million complete reconstruction of the Market Street Elevated between 69th Street Transportation Center and the 44th Street portal between 1999 and 2009. The New Market Street Elevated was an entirely new structure, utilizing single-pillar supports in place of the old-style dual pillar design, allowing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to undertake a planned widening project on Market Street to four lanes between 63rd Street and 44th Street. In addition to the new Elevated structure, all of the stations (including Millbourne) were again replaced with new stations having higher boarding platforms and elevators, allowing customers with disabilities to easily board and depart from trains. The reconstruction of the Market St. Elevated superstructure was completed in 2008, and the last station, 63rd Street, was completed and reopened on May 4, 2009. The Market St. Elevated is not of the same design as the Frankford Elevated, so it does not share any of the Frankford design flaws.
  In 2003, the Bridge-Pratt terminal was closed and replaced with the new Frankford Transportation Center. After Bridge-Pratt closed, the station platforms and the remaining unrebuilt elevated structure above Frankford Avenue and Bridge Street were demolished. The new $160 million Frankford terminal facility was built on a tract of land off Frankford Avenue formerly part of the adjacent bus and trackless trolley service depot.
  In November 2011, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), through its competitive Fiscal Year 2011 Sustainability Initiative, awarded $1.4 million to SEPTA to install a "wayside energy storage system" on the Market-Frankford line. The system stores energy from braking trains in a battery that may be used later.
caption: Market–Frankford Line train at 11th Street station in 2019
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