PHILADELPHIA (January 9, 2026) – SEPTA today announced the reopening of the Center City Trolley Tunnel, which has been closed since mid-November for emergency repairs and testing.
All T Trolleys will travel through the tunnel beginning on Monday, Jan. 12 at 5 am.
“We recognize that this prolonged closure of the trolley tunnel posed a significant inconvenience for our riders, and we appreciate their patience,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer. “Our crews worked around the clock to complete the emergency repairs and run test trolleys through the tunnel to ensure it is safe to reopen for service.”
Since November, SEPTA has replaced nearly 5,000 feet of overhead wire in the trolley tunnel, which is about 20% of all the wire in the five-mile-long tunnel. Crews will continue to replace overhead wire in the tunnel during scheduled weekend closures.
When the tunnel is closed, SEPTA will run the T Bus Shuttle for customers traveling to/from points between 40th Street and 15th Street not served by the L.
Last fall, SEPTA replaced a part on each trolley called a “slider” that connects the vehicles to the overhead wire – replacing three-inch sliders with four-inch sliders.
Evidence from peer agencies and testing performed by SEPTA suggested this change would reduce wear and tear on carbon pieces that sit within the sliders, cutting maintenance costs since they would need to be replaced less frequently.
However, it became apparent that the sliders caused damage to the overhead infrastructure. SEPTA has reinstalled the three-inch sliders on all vehicles.
About 60,000 riders travel daily through the trolley tunnel between 13th Street and the West Philadelphia portal at 40th Street.
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