SEPTA not ready yet to resume papal rail pass sales

SEPTA says it will provide 24 hours notice of when it will resume sale of rail passes for the weekend of Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia.

SEPTA said Tuesday morning it did not yet have anything to announce.

The transit agency's online ticketing system for the papal visit the weekend of Sept. 26 and 27 crashed Monday under heavy demand almost as soon as it went into operation.

Only 201 of 350,000 passes - 175,000 for each day - were sold when the operation was suspended.

The passes will cost $10 each and must be purchased for a specific station and departure period. Only two morning 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.

Passes will be mailed to purchasers, with a $1.95 shipping fee per purchase.

PATCO in the meantime reports that since sales began Monday morning, it has sold nearly 1,100 of the 100,000 passses it will issue for the weekend.

PATCO is selling one-day passes for $5 and two-day passes for $10 on its website, www.ridepatco.org/PapalVisit/. They also can be bought at its Broadway station ticket office in Camden (from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-Friday) and Woodcrest station in Cherry Hill (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays).

Current holders of PATCO Freedom cards can use their existing Freedom cards, at $2.50 per one-way trip, that weekend.