Ninth Street Branch

Ninth Street Branch
The Reading Terminal in 1906
Overview
Status	Conveyed to Conrail and SEPTA
Owner	Reading Company
Locale	Philadelphia
Termini	Reading Terminal Tabor Junction
History
Opened	6 June 1832 (1832-06-06)
Branch fully elevated	January 1, 1911
Electrification	July 26, 1931
Closed	12 November 1984 (1984-11-12)
Technical
Line length	7.0 mi (11.3 km)
Number of tracks	4
Character	Fully elevated and grade-separated
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	12 kV 25 Hz overhead line
Route map Legend mi SEPTA Main Line 6.7 Tabor Newtown Branch 6.2 Fern Rock Bethlehem Branch 5.9 Logan Chestnut Hill East Branch Low Grade Branch 5.1 Wayne Junction Richmond Branch 4.3 Nicetown 4.0 Tioga Chestnut Hill West Branch Norristown Branch 3.5 16th Street Junction North Philadelphia Northeast Corridor 2.9 North Broad Street 1.8 Temple University Girard Avenue Center City Commuter Connection SEPTA Main Line 0.8 Spring Garden Street Willow and Noble Street Branch 0.4 City Branch 0.0 Reading Terminal This diagram: view talk edit

The Ninth Street Branch was an elevated railway line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was operated by the Reading Company; ownership was split between the Reading and its subsidiary the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad. It was a four-tracked main line beginning at the Reading Terminal, the Reading's terminus in Philadelphia, and extending north into the city to a junction with the Bethlehem Branch. After the final bankruptcy of the Reading the line passed to Conrail and later SEPTA. The portion south of the Temple University station was abandoned in 1984 with the opening of the Center City Commuter Connection and is now known as the Reading Viaduct; the portion north is now part of the SEPTA Main Line.