Haddonfield and other communities served by PATCO are now two weeks into a suspension of overnight train service on weekdays as part of a six-month pilot program. The Speedline’s new timetables, which went into effect on September 1, mean that trains will not run between midnight and 4:30 AM each weekday, with service unaffected and continuing hourly on Saturday and Sunday nights. Why was this change made, and what does it mean for Haddonfield riders?

First announced in June, the overnight shutdown is the second phase of a program designed to enhance “safety, cleanliness, and efficiency,” according to a statement from PATCO, a subsidiary of the Delaware River Port Authority. Phase One consisted of rolling closures of certain stations; Phase Two is the six-month period where weekday overnight service will be suspended altogether. In coordination with the City of Philadelphia, which owns part of the PATCO stations in Center City, deep-cleaning and public safety operations can be conducted that would be impossible if the stations were open to the public. PATCO will also conduct maintenance on tracks, signals, and electrical equipment that will likely reduce the amount of this work that is done during the day and disrupts schedules.

PATCO says that the program will have minimal impact on most riders: previously, trains only ran hourly in each direction between midnight and 4:30 AM, with systemwide ridership between these times averaging just 25 people per hour. For HMHS students and any other Haddonfield residents using PATCO Monday to Friday nights, the closure means that the last train back to New Jersey is scheduled to leave Center City at 11:30 PM and arrive in Haddonfield at 11:49.

HMHS students who were interviewed broadly supported the change, especially the goal of increasing cleanliness and safety throughout the system. “I don’t think it will affect the majority” of students, said Harrison Berman, a junior, but pointed out that people going to a concert or sporting event on a Friday night would have to pay close attention to the timing of the last train home.

The Phase Two service suspensions will continue through March 2026. Until then, PATCO will be temporarily unseated from being one of only four rapid transit systems in the United States to run 24/7 (the others are New York City, Chicago, and North Jersey’s PATH). For now, PATCO has not announced any plans to extend the changes further or make them permanent.