PATCO : NJ to Phili

It is easy to get excited when you read about a ‘High Speed Line’ on an American railway commuter sign.  There it was at a PATCO station just outside Philadelphia “PATCO HIGH SPEED LINE”!  (PATCO = Port Authority Transit Corporation).   The PATCO line connects suburban New Jersey with the Philadelphia City Center.

It features :

-train cars built about 40 years ago and that have a feeling from an era long past.

– sit at the very front, and on many of the trains you sit next to the Driver.  And in these securtiy concious days, seperated by …….a sort of curtain!

– a Drivers eye view as you ascend the huge Ben Franklin Bridge and the Phili’ skyline

– stations such as Lindenwold or Haddonfield have vast parking areas, making it an easy way to get to the city centre, inexpensively and without parking hassles.  There are many branded hotels also – often a lot cheaper than in the center of Phili !

You can read about the history of PATCO Here

The ‘High Speed’ bit does seem a bit of a stretch but it is well used relic from the past which seems to continue to provide a very well used service, for locals and visitors to Philadelphia.