January 24, 2016
Dave Angilella/for PhillyVoice
Snow piles up outside Jefferson Station in Center City, which was closed Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016. SEPTA suspended all of its Regional Rail service due to the blizzard, but officials expect those lines will be up and running – likely with delays – in time for Monday's commute.
Update, 8:10 PM Sunday: SEPTA says most Regional Rail lines will run Monday morning
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The blissful snow-day routines of drinking hot cocoa, making snowmen or watching Netflix in your PJs all day can't last forever. You have to go back to work eventually.
The question is, will that even be possible?
Here's the latest information on how transportation systems are recovering from the storm:
PATCO
PATCO trains will be running on Sunday and Monday according to this special schedule.
SEPTA
SEPTA will provide an update at 7 p.m. Sunday on the outlook for Monday morning.
"The region is still in a snow emergency," SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel said in a statement released Sunday. "Some portions of our service region were especially hard hit by the storm, receiving over two feet of snow. This has made it difficult for us to be able to fully restore all service today."
Here is the current status of SEPTA's routes and where the public transportation authority hopes it will be between Sunday and Monday:
Market-Frankford/Broad Street lines: Service has mostly been running as normal. Note that street-level escalators and elevators are out of service due to the snow.
Norristown High-Speed Line: Service between 69th Street and Bryn Mawr will resume late Sunday. Service between Bryn Mawr and the Norristown Transportation Center starts late Monday. Full service is expected by the Tuesday morning rush hour.
Buses and trolleys: Service is being restored on a route-by-route basis. Check on the status of your bus or trolley at http://www.septa.org/realtime/status/system-status.shtml.
As of 3 p.m. Sunday, these bus routes were restored (asterisks indicate detours): 9*, 14, 20*, 21, 37*, 42*, 50*, 52*, 54*, 56, 58*, 60*, 66, 70*, 79*, 84*, 93*, 104, 105*, 109*, 110*, 111*, 113*, 117*, 124*, 125*
The city is putting priority on the following routes to be restored next:
City routes: 18, 33, 59
Suburban routes: 99, 108
As of Sunday afternoon, service has been restored to all trolleys.
Regional Rail: Service remains suspended all Sunday, with the exception of the Airport Line. That line will be operating hourly from Temple University to the airport. Expect delays for much of the rail system on Monday morning.
CCT Paratransit: There continues to be service for dialysis patients only on Sunday, and limited service on Monday for dialysis, medical appointments, and essential employees.
Parking: Remains limited. SEPTA will be removing snow at night all of next week, trucking it out of many lots.
More questions? @SEPTA_Social will respond to questions on Twitter.
DRIVING
PennDOT crews continue to clear snow in the Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley and the central and southern regions of Pennsylvania in the wake of the massive snow storm that buried wide areas of the state, the department said late Sunday afternoon.
"Our crews worked long and hard over the weekend to stay on top of the 10 to 30 inches of snow that blanketed much of the state," PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards said in statement. "We are gratified that many drivers heeded our warnings to postpone travel, and now we continue to wrap up and be prepared for whatever is coming our way in the weeks ahead."
Crews in the worst -hit areas will work into Sunday night and Monday, in some cases, to deal with ice formation and blowing snow. It is using front-end loaders and snow blowers to clean up snow in some places.
Roads should be clear for Monday morning, but motorists need to mindful of icy spots after a cold Sunday night. Brad Rudolph, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said crews will "make sure the commute Monday morning is as good as possible."
"Drivers should definitely take caution. The roads will be open and ready to go Monday morning. There still might be some slick spots ... just take it real easy in the morning and allow some extra time," Rudolph said.
Rudolph said that major roads were mostly clear on Sunday, though some secondary roads in southern Chester County and upper Montgomery County are still snow-packed.
Several accidents were reported on the Northeast Extension of I-476 on Sunday.
PHOTOS: The aftermath: Life in Philly resumes after snowstorm slams region
The speed limit is 25 mph and a trailer ban is in effect on the Ben Franklin, Commodore Barry, Walt Whitman and Betsy Ross bridges. The speed limit is 25 mph on the Burlington-Bristol and Tacony-Palmyra bridges as well.
On the New Jersey side, officials described roads as "passable" and put a 35 mph speed limit was put in place on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.
For the latest information on driving conditions, go to @511PAPhilly on Twitter or see the list here of 511NJ Twitter accounts.
AMTRAK
Amtrak was operating Sunday on all its routes, but with a reduced number of trains. Spokesman Marc Magliari said Sunday afternoon that the number of passengers was down from usual, but appeared to include many travelers who couldn't get around on other transportation modes.
"We're seeing a pretty solid increase in ridership as the day has gone on," he said.
Amtrak had not yet determined whether it would be back to normal operations on Monday, as it is still coordinating with commuter rail and bus lines to see how many Amtrak employees would be able to get to train stations and other work locations Monday. For the latest updates, see @AmtrakNEC and Amtrak.com/alerts.
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
All flights were canceled on Saturday and "at least 50 percent" of all Sunday flights are canceled, said spokesperson Mary Flannery. "We expect the airlines to begin regular service by tomorrow (Tuesday) but passengers should still stay in contact with their airlines," she said.
Call 1-800-PHL-GATE for the latest information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
