SEPTA is expanding regional rail service next month by adding 99 trains on weekends and 24 trains on weekdays. New timetables for all lines comes into force on Sunday, September 8th.

The service enhancements will restore 80% of pre-COVID service on weekdays and 84% on weekends.

SEPTA officials said additional crews will be on site to ensure more reliable service. With 189 technicians, SEPTA is on track to reach its planned headcount of 213 by next spring.

“While we continue to grow ridership, SEPTA still faces a $240 million annual budget deficit, and the need for a permanent solution becomes more urgent by the day,” SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie S. Richards said in a statement. “Despite this funding crisis, we cannot put critical investments in our system on hold. We must move forward with our efforts to make our service more reliable for our riders who rely on us to get to their destinations.”

Upcoming service changes include the full restoration of hourly weekend service on most routes and ffull restoration of the 30-minute weekend service to Philadelphia International Airport. There will also be aadditional off-peak hours (late night and midday) and oncoming traffic on most lines, and aadditional carriages on selected trains to counteract overcrowding, especially during the week when passenger numbers are at their highest.

SEPTA reintroduces parking fees with a phased approach starting September 23rd. Daily parking fees will increase to $2 in SEPTA-operated lots and to $4 in the three parking garages: Frankford Transportation Center, Norristown and Lansdale. Parking in the lots will remain free on weekends and holidays.

For more information, see septa.orgconsequences @SEPTAor download the official SEPTA app.