Editing PATCO Speedline (section)

=== Bridge Line ===
[[File:Delaware River Bridge car at Seashore Trolley Museum, September 2012.jpg|thumb|An original Bridge Line car preserved at the [[Seashore Trolley Museum]] in [[Kennebunkport, Maine]]]]
{{Main|Bridge Line (Delaware River)}}

To make use of the bridge's rail capacity, the South Jersey Transit Commission, established in 1929, proposed a rapid transit line that would run along the outboard structures.<ref name="Kramer 2011">{{cite book |last=Kramer |first=Frederick A. |title=Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines: An Illustrated History of Southern New Jersey's Jointly-Owned Railroad |date=2011 |publisher=West Jersey Chapter, National Railway Historical Society |location=Palmyra, New Jersey |pages=38–54}}</ref> Instead of transferring to a ferry, passengers arriving in Camden could transfer at [[Walter Rand Transportation Center|Broadway station]] to this new rail line and ride directly to [[8th–Market station]] in Philadelphia, where they could continue on the [[L (SEPTA Metro)|Market–Frankford Line]] or the [[Broad-Ridge Line|Broad–Ridge Line]].<ref name="Kramer 2011" /> The platform at 8th–Market would be shared with the Broad–Ridge Line and had actually been constructed in 1917 as part of an unrealized Center City subway loop.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 16, 1953 |title=First Cash Riders Aboard As Locust Subway Opens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71274759/the-philadelphia-inquirer/ |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |page=21 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The commission also recommended consolidating regional rail operations, which led to the formation of the [[Pennsylvania–Reading Seashore Lines]], serving Broadway station.<ref name="Kramer 2011" /> However, the Pennsylvania Railroad did not discontinue its ferry service until March 31, 1952.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kramer |first=Frederick A. |title=Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines: An Illustrated History of Southern New Jersey's Jointly-Owned Railroad |date=2011 |publisher=West Jersey Chapter, National Railway Historical Society |location=Palmyra, New Jersey |page=88}}</ref>

In 1931, the Delaware River Bridge Commission was reorganized as the Delaware River Joint Commission (DRJC), which was given the authority to build a high-speed transit line. Construction on the new line began in 1932, and the [[Bridge Line (Delaware River)|Bridge Line]] officially opened on June 7, 1936, with four stations: 8th–Market and [[Franklin Square station|Franklin Square]] in Philadelphia, and [[City Hall station (PATCO)|City Hall]] and Broadway in Camden. The DRJC owned the line and contracted with the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company to operate it. Following the operator's bankruptcy, the reorganized [[Philadelphia Transportation Company]] (PTC) assumed control in 1940.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tinkcom |first=Margaret B. |title=Philadelphia: A 300 Year History |date=1982 |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-01610-9 |editor-last1=Weigley |editor-first1=Russell F. |editor-link1=Russell Weigley |location=New York |page=625 |chapter=Depression and War, 1929–1946 |editor-last2=Wainwright |editor-first2=Nicholas B. |editor-last3=Wolf |editor-first3=Edwin II |editor-link3=Edwin Wolf II}}</ref> In June 1949, to lower operating costs, PTC began through-routing Bridge Line trains with the Broad–Ridge Line, reversing direction at 8th–Market and offering one-seat service between Camden and [[Broad–Girard station]] in North Philadelphia.<ref>{{Cite news|title=PTC to Link Camden and Girard Ave|date=June 23, 1949|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer/71274217/|access-date=May 15, 2025|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|pages=23}}</ref>