FAQs

 

The Keystone Corridor is the rail line across Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. It was developed in the late 1800s by the Pennsylvania Railroad and continues to carry both passenger and freight traffic. The western portion between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg is known as Keystone West, and the track is owned by Norfolk Southern Corporation. The eastern portion between Harrisburg and Philadelphia is Keystone East, owned by Amtrak. This 104-mile-long segment is often referred to as the Keystone Corridor because Amtrak’s Keystone Service operates o​n it. 

Plan the Keystone is an initiative launched in 2009 to improve conditions for rail passengers at the 12 Keystone Corridor train stations from Harrisburg to Philadelphia. Broadly, the goals are to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, to refurbish or (where necessary) replace the historic station buildings along the line, and to ensure that station improvements complement local revitalization efforts.

When the initiative was originally launched, planning outreach was conducted in each of the 12 communities, with the public and local leaders closely involved. Today, many of those envisioned improvements have been completed, and numerous projects continue to advance from planning through design to​ construction, as described on this site.

Access the Keystone is an initiative launched in coordination with Plan the Keystone in 2009. While Plan the Keystone focuses on station and rail improvements on the Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Access the Keystone aimed to improve the ways passengers access those stations. Access the Keystone data collection and analysis between 2009 and 2017 is documented and archived at AccesstheKeystone.com​. Subsequent efforts to improve access to Keystone Corridor stations are highlighted on this website (PlantheKeystone.com). Click a station name and look under the blue "Project Status" section to view access and parking projects. 

ADA Accessibility: Each station is being made fully accessible and compliant with the 2006 U.S. Department of Transportation Accessibility Standards. In addition to providing access to persons with disabilities, improvements such as high-level platforms, ramps, and elevators make rail travel easier for all passengers.

State-of-Good-Repair Projects​: Each station has different needs, from better parking, to a new roof, to enhanced signage, to safer pedestrian connections, and more. PennDOT is working closely with local communities to develop station facilities that are in good repair, support growing ridership, and anchor station-area redevelopment.

Yes. Where appropriate PennDOT would advance​​ certain projects through P3 agreements. Please see PennDOT's Public-Private Partnership website for more information.​

PennDOT, Amtrak, SEPTA, and our local partners are advancing projects at the Keystone Corridor stations between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Moving a project through planning, design, and construction—while engaging in proactive public involvement, coordinating with local redevelopment initiatives, obtaining environmental approvals, meeting federal and state requirements, securing funding, coordinating agreements, developing maintenance and operations agreements, and sustaining maintenance and operations—does take time. Learn more about the project development process.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) provides funding for capital improvements on Keystone East, which must be spent in the Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Philadelphia regions.

Please contact the service provider for schedule and pricing information. On the Keystone Corridor, intercity passenger rail is operated by Amtrak, and Philadelphia regional commuter rail is operated between Downingtown and Philadelphia by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA).
 
Most stations are also served by local and intercity buses. Please contact the bus company directly for service details. Links are provided on the station pages of this site.

All stations between Downingtown and Philadelphia are served by SEPTA commuter rail in addition to Amtrak passenger rail: Downingtown – Exton – Paoli – Ardmore – Philadelphia.

For SEPTA schedule information, please visit www.SEPTA.org.

Click on Stations, and navigate to the desired station page. Below the photo and map of the station, look for “Features.” The approximate number of short-term (one day or less), long-term (longer than one day/overnight), and nearby parking spaces is provided.

At this time PennDOT does not have plans to increase service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Keystone West was the subject of a 2011 study by PennDOT, in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration and Norfolk Southern (owner of the Keystone West rail line). The conceptual study identified and evaluated the feasibility of options to reduce passenger travel times and increase trip frequency between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.

In 2019, PennDOT conducted the Altoona-Pittsburgh Passenger Rail Study​ to explore the feasibility of commuter rail service between Altoona and Pittsburgh.

At this time PennDOT does not have plans to increase service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. PennDOT’s first priority is to utilize available funding to sustain the existing Amtrak passenger service, which has been possible due to the increase in state funding provided through Act 89 of 2013. PennDOT continues to explore options to improve and expand passenger rail service within available funding.

In October 2014, Amtrak placed into service new Amtrak Cities Sprinter (ACS-64) electric locomotives. For its Keystone Service (Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York), Amtrak uses train sets comprised of an electric locomotive, four coaches, and a cab car. Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian service (Pittsburgh – Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York) uses train sets with​ a diesel locomotive, five coaches, a café car, and a baggage car.

Currently, trains between Harrisburg and Philadelphia operate at an average speed of 60 mph. Average speed on Keystone West between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg is 45 mph.

Infrastructure improvements permit a maximum operating speed of 110 mph on Keystone East.

Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor and its predecessor rail lines developed along the routes of early Pennsylvania roadways and canals, which had followed Native American trails. Many of the Keystone Corridor’s station buildings were constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 1800s and early 1900s—some of those buildings are still in use today.

PennDOT is developing a series of booklets, available at the links below, to document and share historical station photos, research, and the story of how rail shaped each community and the greater region.

• Harrisburg


• Middletown


• Elizabethtown


• Mount Joy


• Coatesville (in development)


• Downingtown (in development)


• Paoli

Some resources include the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, USDA Rural Development, and PennDOT's Public Private Partnerships O​ffice, as well as the local municipality and chamber of commerce.

Members of the press may reach the PennDOT Press Office by telephone at 717-783-8800 or by e-mail at RA-PennDOTPress@pa.gov​. ​​​