Philadelphia Airport (PHL) to Center City
The Airport Line runs from four terminal stations to Suburban Station in 28 minutes, every 30 minutes, from 05:07 to just after midnight. Pay with a SEPTA Key or a contactless card and it is $8.75; pay the conductor and it is $13.00.
- $8.75 with a SEPTA Key Travel Wallet or a contactless card or phone. This is the fare to aim for.
- $11.00 for a Quick Trip, the paper ticket from the machine on the platform.
- $13.00 if you pay onboard, in cash or by card. That is 49 percent more than the same journey bought before boarding.
- 28 minutes to Suburban Station, in the middle of Center City, on every scheduled trip.
- Every 30 minutes, from 05:07 in the morning to 00:07 at night.
- Four stations at the airport: Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminals C and D, and Terminals E and F. Take the one at your terminal.
- The train also calls at 30th Street Station, for Amtrak and the regional network.
- A Center City Zone 1 journey is $5.00, so the airport is priced as its own zone rather than as an ordinary suburban stop.
The train
- SEPTA's Airport Line is a Regional Rail service, not a shuttle. It runs from the airport through Eastwick and Penn Medicine Station to 30th Street, Suburban Station and Jefferson Station.
- 28 minutes to Suburban Station, which is the stop for City Hall, Rittenhouse and most Center City hotels. Every scheduled trip takes exactly that.
- Every 30 minutes, seven days a week, first departure from the airport at 05:07 and last at 00:07.
- Four separate airport stations, one per terminal group: Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminals C and D, and Terminals E and F. They are on the same line one after another, so getting on at the wrong one is a minor inconvenience rather than a disaster.
Where you buy the ticket decides the price
- $8.75 on a SEPTA Key Travel Wallet, or by tapping a contactless credit card, debit card or phone.
- $11.00 for a Quick Trip, the single-use ticket sold by the machines at the station.
- $13.00 if you get on and pay the conductor, whether in cash or by card.
- That is a $4.25 spread on an identical 28 minute journey. SEPTA prices onboard payment as a penalty, and the airport is where visitors are most likely to walk on without a ticket.
- So tap in before you board. A contactless bank card needs no setup at all and gets you the lowest fare.
How the airport sits in SEPTA's zones
- A Center City to Zone 1 journey is $5.00, and Zone 2 is $6.50 on a weekday.
- The airport is a fare category of its own at $8.75, priced above Zone 3, so it is not simply the nearest suburban station.
- The same three-tier structure applies across the network, but the gap is widest here.
Onward
- 30th Street Station is the interchange for Amtrak up and down the Northeast Corridor, and the train calls there on the way in.
- Jefferson Station is at the eastern edge of Center City, useful for Old City and Independence Hall.
- The Market-Frankford and Broad Street subway lines are a separate fare, so plan to walk from Suburban Station rather than change if you can.
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