The Warminster Line becomes a single-track line just north of Ardsley, but was once double-tracked as far north as Roslyn, the original northbound track being removed in 2010. A passing siding exists north of Willow Grove. There is also a second storage track at the Hatboro station and the line becomes double-tracked again as it approaches the terminus at Warminster station.
Hatboro station was the extent of electrified service until 1974The logo for the Warminister Line
The Warminster Line is a continuation of the Reading Company's suburban services over the Warminster Branch. The line was built between 1872 and 1874 and electrified as far as Hatboro in 1931.[2] Passenger service beyond Hatboro ended in 1952. The Reading extended electrification and suburban service to Warminster on July 29, 1974.[2][3]
With the Reading's final bankruptcy in 1976 Conrail took over the operation of the trains and ownership of the branch.[4] The Warminster Branch was conveyed to SEPTA in 1979; SEPTA took over operation of the trains in 1983. A train crash occurred on July 1, 2006, in Abington Township injuring 38 passengers and 6 crew members.[5]
Beginning in 1984 the route was designated R2 Warminster as part of SEPTA's diametrical reorganization of its lines. Warminster Line trains operated through the city center to the Wilmington/Newark Line (then Marcus Hook) on the ex-Pennsylvania side of the system.[6] The R-number naming system was dropped on July 25, 2010.[7] As of 2024[update] the majority of Warminster trains continue on to the Airport Line, though some weekday trains terminate at 30th Street Station, Thorndale, or Trenton Transit Center.[8]
On April 18, 2016, SEPTA launched positive train control on the Warminster Line, the first Regional Rail line to use the signal system which will enhance safety.[9][10]
Potential for expansion beyond Warminster
In a 1991 report, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission ranked the line between Warminster and New Hope as having "medium potential" for reuse based on projected growth in population and employment in the region. It noted that SEPTA considered the line a "long range transit opportunity corridor."[11]
The Warminster Line includes the following stations north of the Center City Commuter Connection; stations indicated with gray background area closed.[8]
Between FY 2013–FY 2019 yearly ridership on the Warminster Line ranged between 2.3 and 2.7 million before collapsing during the COVID-19 pandemic.[note 1]
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
FY 2019
FY 2020
FY 2021
FY 2022
FY 2023
Notes
^Data for individual lines is not available for FY 2020.[1]
^"New Rail Schedules Set". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 2, 1992. p. 36. Retrieved October 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
