B (SEPTA Metro)

A train at Race–Vine station in 2010
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerCity of Philadelphia
LocalePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Termini
Stations24
Websitewww.septa.org/schedules/B
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemSEPTA Metro
Services
  •  Local
  •  Express
  •  Spur
Operator(s)1928–39: Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co.
1940–68: Philadelphia Transportation Co.
1968–present: SEPTA
Depot(s)Fern Rock Transit Center
Daily ridership79,155 (FY 2023)
History
OpenedSeptember 1, 1928
Technical
Line length12.5 mi (20.1 km)
Number of tracks2–4
CharacterUnderground and surface
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail, 600 V DC
Route map
Fern Rock Transit Center
Fern Rock Yard
Olney Transit Center
Logan
Wyoming
Hunting Park
Erie
Broad–Allegheny
North Philadelphia
Susquehanna–Dauphin
Cecil B. Moore
Broad–Girard
Fairmount
Spring Garden
Broad StreetRidge Spur
Chinatown
Race–Vine
8th–Market
15th Street/City Hall
Walnut–Locust
Lombard–South
Ellsworth–Federal
Tasker–Morris
Snyder
Oregon
NRG

Underground concourse/transfer station
Free transfer between services
Out-of-system transfer between services
Surface buses connect at all stations

The B, formerly known as the Broad Street Line (BSL), is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs primarily north-south from the Fern Rock Transit Center in North Philadelphia through Center City Philadelphia to NRG Station at Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia; the latter station provides access to the stadiums and arenas for the city's major professional sports teams at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, about a quarter mile away. The trains of the B run underneath Broad Street for almost its entire length.

The line, which is entirely underground except for the northern terminus at Fern Rock, has four tracks in a local/express configuration from Fern Rock to Walnut–Locust and two tracks from Lombard-South to the southern terminus at NRG Station. It is one of only two rapid transit lines in the SEPTA Metro system overall alongside the L, though Center City Philadelphia is also served by five stations of the PATCO Speedline rapid transit line which runs from Center City Philadelphia through Camden, New Jersey to Lindenwold, New Jersey. With about 115,000 boardings on an average weekday in 2019, it is the second busiest route in the SEPTA system.

The line and its trains were leased to SEPTA in 1968 after it assumed operation of the city transit systems from the former Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC). B cars bear both the SEPTA logo and the seal of the City of Philadelphia to reflect the split ownership-operation arrangement.