Papal-visit SEPTA passes go on sale Monday

SEPTA will start selling one-day Regional Rail passes for the papal visit Monday at $10 each, with sales limited to 10 per purchase and available only online.

SEPTA officials said 175,000 passes will be sold for each day of the visit by Pope Francis, Sept. 26 and 27.

For non-rail passengers, three-day papal passes for subways, trolleys, and buses will go on sale online on July 27. SEPTA will sell 750,000 of those passes, good for Sept. 26 through 28.

On subways, trolleys, and buses, customers can also use tokens, and regular weekly and monthly passes.

All passes will be available through SEPTA's website, www.septa.org. Passes will be mailed to purchasers, with a $1.95 shipping fee per purchase.

Regional Rail passengers will not be allowed on trains without the passes, and trains will stop at only 21 stations. The Center City stops will be 30th Street Station, Jefferson Station, and University City Station.

Parking will be virtually nonexistent, so SEPTA officials urged visitors to get dropped off at the outlying stations for the trip into Center City.

Passes must be purchased for a specific station and time period. Two morning time periods will be available: 5:30 to 8:30 a.m., and 8:30 a.m. to noon each day.

Return trips will operate from 5:30 p.m. to midnight each day.

The only outlying stations that will be in operation are:

Norristown/Manayunk Line: Norristown Transportation Center.

Lansdale/Doylestown Line: Pennbrook and Fort Washington stations.

Warminster Line: Warminster station.

West Trenton Line: Woodbourne station.

Fox Chase Line: Fox Chase station.

Airport Line: Terminal A/B, Terminal C/D, Eastwick station.

Paoli/Thorndale Line: Paoli and Radnor stations.

Chestnut Hill West Line: Chestnut Hill West station.

Trenton Line: Levittown and Croydon (8:30 a.m. to noon) and Conwells Heights (5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.) stations.

Wilmington/Newark Line: Wilmington and Marcus Hook stations.

Media/Elwyn Line: Media and Primos stations.

Return trips will operate from 5:30 p.m. to midnight each day.

SEPTA is doubling its train capacity for the papal visit, using six-car trains capable of carrying about 900 riders, including standees. Inbound trains will operate every half-hour, and outbound trains about every 15 minutes, SEPTA officials said.

215-854-4587@nussbaumpaul