FAQs Archive | Friends of the Rail Park

What are the Rail Park's hours?

Where is the entrance to Phase One?

Is the park pet-friendly?

Who is in charge of maintenance and security?

Who designed Phase One?

Designs for Phase One were done by Studio Bryan Hanes and Urban Engineers. The construction restored and maintained much of the existing infrastructure, and carried the industrial scale and character of the site through to platforms, benches, and guardrails throughout the park. Environmental graphics were done by Cloud Gehshan. Construction funds were raised by our partners at the Center City District Foundation.

What is the Rail Park?

The Rail Park is a vision for a three-mile linear park that will run along two former Reading Railroad lines just north of Center City Philadelphia.

When complete, the park will stretch across 50 city blocks, connecting 10 neighborhoods to Fairmount Park, Center City, and some of Philadelphia’s most important cultural institutions. The Rail Park will serve as a series of linked neighborhood parks, a shared public space, and a destination for visitors from near and far.

The first phase of the park is complete. It’s free and open to the public every day.

What is Phase One?

Phase One is the first quarter-mile section of the Rail Park to be completed and open to the public.

The public greenspace runs along Noble Street, just east of Broad, and ramps up onto the Viaduct toward Callowhill Street.

There are two entrances to Phase One: a wheelchair accessible entrance at Broad and Noble Streets, and a stairway on Callowhill between 11th and 12th Streets.

What was the original use of the site?

What has changed since trains stopped running?

Since the trains stopped rolling, the unused tracks have fallen into disrepair. With the exception of Phase One, which has been completely transformed into a beautiful, open public park, the rest of the site is now standing vacant, waiting to be turned into something new.

Another significant change is that when I-676 was built, part of the Viaduct was demolished. Rather than connecting all the way into Reading Terminal as it originally did, the Viaduct now ends at Vine Street—and when it opens to the public it will offer incredible skyline views.

What is the Viaduct?

What is the Cut?

What is the Tunnel?

How long will the full park be?

What are the plans for Phase 2?

Now that Phase 1 is complete and open to the public, we’re working with our partners on plans for the next section of the park. The conversation is still underway, and you can help bring the next phase of the park to life.

Sign up for our newsletter. Spread the word. Let everyone know that you believe in the Rail Park. Then join us as a member so you can say that you’ve been part of this thing from the start.

What is the role of Friends of the Rail Park?

Friends of the Rail Park is a nonprofit organization with one simple mission: to bring the Rail Park to life. We’re raising funds, rallying the community, and leading the conversation about the Rail Park.

Now that Phase 1 is open, we’re working with Center City District and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation to oversee maintenance and programming—making sure this park serves Philadelphia and visitors alike as a beautiful, lively, open, inviting public space for all.

How is the Rail Park different from the High Line?

Both the Rail Park and New York City’s High Line are inspired by the Promenade Plantee in Paris, which opened in 1993. Like the Promenade Plantee, the Rail Park has sections that are elevated (the Viaduct), below street level but open to the sky (the Cut), and running underground (the Tunnel). Our site is twice the length and twice the width of the High Line and our vision includes pedestrian pathways, dedicated bicycle lanes, programming spaces, and gathering places for residents and visitors alike.

I want the Rail Park. How can I get involved?

What will the Rail Park do for me?

What will the Rail Park do for Philadelphia?

The Rail Park will have a positive impact on the quality of life for all Philadelphians, as well as visitors from near and far.

When the full three-mile park is complete, it will provide an entirely new transportation path for pedestrians and bicyclists running across Philadelphia, just north of Center City. It will provide open green spaces for all kinds of programming, enhancing education, culture, health and wellness, and the arts.

It will also spark local economic growth, elevating Philadelphia as an attraction for visitors and tourists from around the region and around the world.

Frequently
Asked Questions

Phase 1

The History

The Vision

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently
Asked Questions