Tunnel Work Pauses SEPTA Trolleys in Center City

Five SEPTA trolley routes will pause service to Center City for about four weeks this summer. The region's transit authority will conduct annual maintenance work in the trolley tunnel.

Trolley services for routes T1 to T5 will start and conclude at 40th and Market Streets from 10pm on Friday, July 11, to 6am on Monday, Aug. 11.

SEPTA advises passengers traveling to and from Center City to take the Market-Frankford Line (Blue Line/El) or use buses as alternatives to their trolley routes.

According to Philly Voice, during SEPTA's Trolley Tunnel Blitz, crews will replace tracks, clear drains and pipes, remove graffiti, clean trolley stations, and perform maintenance work on the tunnel's signal system. At the same time, PennDOT plans to conduct repairs inside the tunnel under the Schuylkill River. 

"The blitz gives our crews the opportunity to tackle construction, maintenance, and safety improvement work in a concentrated period of time to reduce the number of outages throughout the year," SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said.

The tunnel blitz is scheduled to take twice as long than in prior years because SEPTA will not conduct it next year. Philadelphia will host the FIFA World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, and various U.S. semiquincentennial celebrations throughout the summer of 2026.

This year marks the 13th consecutive year that SEPTA has undertaken the tunnel blitz. The transit authority schedules the work during the summer due to reduced ridership during this time of year.