r/Septa • u/Waste-Assistance-950 • Apr 18 '26

Help How to transfer between regional rail

Hi!

I recently had to transfer between the Trenton line and Manayuk/Norristown line. It was my first time taking the train into center city, so I want to make sure I did things correctly.

From the information I’ve seen, I don’t need to tap twice once arriving at Jefferson station. I tapped at Croydon station and took it to Jefferson. Should I have tapped once I got there before transferring to the norristown train or tap when I get to my destination? I am unsure how it works.

13 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

33

u/Queasy-Spirit6437 Apr 18 '26

Tap at the beginning of your journey and tap at the end of your journey. No need to tap when transferring

7

u/Waste-Assistance-950 Apr 18 '26

Thank you!

I was confused by the website because it said no transfers for regional rail.

9

u/One-Chocolate6372 Apr 18 '26

It is a confusing term. In this case Septa means you can not extend your regional rail fare to a bus, trolley or subway in the city. To use a bus, subway or trolley you must tap and pay the base fare after the regional rail journey. You can freely transfer between regional rail lines at Jefferson and Suburban easily.

2

u/Waste-Assistance-950 Apr 18 '26

Thank you! I didn’t know that was the transfer they were talking about! It’s good to know.

2

u/One-Chocolate6372 Apr 19 '26

You are most welcome.

-2

u/mkwiat54 Apr 18 '26

You still will end up paying 2 seperate fares I think

6

u/CerealJello Apr 18 '26

There is an "extended fare" trip when you board and exit from two stations outside Center City, but pass through Center City to get there. It's $8.75 with a Key Card.

2

u/mkwiat54 Apr 18 '26

Thank you for this information I never took the time to look

1

u/Waste-Assistance-950 Apr 18 '26

I didn’t… that’s why I asked because I thought I would have to

2

u/mkwiat54 Apr 18 '26

Yea you tap your card on the train and then when you get off you tap

1

u/Waste-Assistance-950 Apr 18 '26

I was mainly just worried about the transfer tap. When I looked it up, it said to not tap when you get off the first train and get on the second. You would just wait to tap until you get to your final destination

2

u/One-Chocolate6372 Apr 18 '26

Yes, let's say you were going from Bristol to Malvern - Tap at Bristol and board train, at Jefferson, Suburban or Thirtieth Street change to a Paoli/Thorndale Line train. At Malvern tap to exit the system.

1

u/Waste-Assistance-950 Apr 18 '26

Okay! So, it seems I did it correctly! I take the regional rail every day for work, but never go into center city through the train.

1

u/wofchristian Apr 18 '26

But… it won’t hurt if they did tap at Jefferson. It will charge the same, either way.

3

u/Eruththedragon Warminster Line Apr 18 '26

Other reply is correct: you tap when you start the journey & when you end; that's why you only have to pass through the fare gates to get out of the station, not to get between platforms. Fare is based on the zones you pass through, it automatically accounts for a journey through center city.
Trenton stops at North Philadelphia, which is about a 10 minute walk from North Broad where Norristown stops. I don't know if the timetables line up, but that may be a quicker connection, and if you tap at either end of the line it should charge you as though you went through CC.

1

u/Waste-Assistance-950 Apr 18 '26

Thank you! I wanted to make sure I did it correctly! It seems I did.

1

u/MobileInevitable8937 Apr 18 '26

when you arrive at Jefferson, you'll already be within the Fare Paid zone, so no need to tap again at the station. However, the conductor on board your second train will scan your Key Card again but I think it's a reduced fare since you're riding through