Regional transit: Expect big delays

Philadelphia transportation systems were thrown into disarray today by an overwhelming crush of Phillie fans attending the world championship celebration.

Transit officials expected delays on subways, buses and regional rail lines to continue into the evening as the hundreds of thousands of fans who flooded into the city return home.

SEPTA this evening restored southbound service on the Broad Street subway line. The service was shut off for much of the afternoon after passengers attempted head to the team's celebration at Citizens Bank Park, said Gary Fairfax, an agency spokesman.

NJ Transit suspended bus service to Center City this afternoon because it could not compete with the throngs. New Jersey-bound passengers were directed to PATCO trains, which is honoring NJ Transit bus tickets.

Eastbound traffic on the Walt Whitman bridge was at a standstill because of heavy traffic around the stadium complex. The Delaware River Port Authority recommended motorists heading to New Jersey take the Ben Franklin Bridge.

SEPTA's regional rail service was experiencing evening delays, "but we're getting people home," said Fairfax. Inbound rail was halted in the afternoon to allow the agency to position its rolling stock in Center City to to carry legions of passengers home.

With the subway closed, thousands of fans walked the three-mile route from City Hall to the stadium complex to take part in the public public extravaganza.

The region's transportation system staggered as hundreds of thousands of people poured into the city to celebrate the champs. As many as a million people lined the 4.3-mile parade route or crowd into the sports complex.

"We have been overwhelmed with people," said SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney.

Alternate routes were also pushed to capacity. The Delaware River Port Authority said that PATCO trains from New Jersey and bridge traffic were choked. Vehicular traffic on the major highways experienced huge delays.

The pedestrian walkway on the Ben Franklin Bridge was filled with footbound traffic from Camden, said Ed Kasuba, the port authority spokesman.

SEPTA spokesman Maloney said the agency has put every available train, subway and trolley carriage into service.

"We've just got hundreds of thousands of people on the trains," Maloney said. "The parking lots at stations in the suburbs are packed."

Many inbound trains were so packed that they simply sped by stations. Some frustrated passengers took outbound trains to the end of the lines in order to find a seat on an inbound train.

At the Clifton-Aldan Septa station in Delaware County, regular commuters on the R3 line this morning had to compete with Phillies fans stacked four-deep on the platform. Workers who thought they were catching the 7:50 a.m. train watched in frustration at 9:26 a.m. as the fifth train in 96 minutes passed without stopping, too full to take passengers.

Maloney said SEPTA was trying to run the trains on a printed schedule. "But once you get past an hour late, it doesn't really matter any more."

At the R5 station in Wayne, the ticket agent sold out of off-peak tickets and only had peak-hour tickets to sell.

Passengers quoted on the Inquirer's running blog expressed anger at SEPTA. "It was like we were refugees waiting for a train that never came," said Michael Kane, 28, of Springfield, Delaware County.

Maloney said that few violent incidents had been reported thus far. "It's a happy crowd.," he said.

The crowd leaving the ball park overwhelmed the Pattison Avenue subway station, which can handle only 18,000 passengers per hour. So many celebrants walked all the way back to the city.

The jubilant mood of the day was evident this morning in Suburban Station, where musicians played "Take Me Out To The Ballpark" and fans clad in Phillies regalia whooped and chanted.

The 9:07 a.m. inbound R8 train from Chestnut Hill West filled up rapidly as it made its way into Center City, arriving only several minutes behind schedule.

One man wearing a Phillies shirt got onboard at Allens Lane and shouted out to the crowded car: "I hope nobody's going to work on this train. If there's a day to call in sick, this is it. Let's go Phils!"