Why SEPTA Regional Rail trains don’t have restrooms

If you need to go while riding a Regional Rail train, you’ll have to hold it for a bit longer because there are no restrooms on board.

Tens of thousands of people ride the SEPTA trains daily between the suburbs and Center City. So, why don’t they have toilets?

That is what one reader asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city and region.

» ASK US: Have something you’re wondering about the Philly region? Submit your Curious Philly question here.

Simply put, it comes down to travel distance requirements and logistics, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Travel distance requirements

Regional Rail trains “do not meet the minimum distance requirement” that would obligate them to install restrooms on the trains, according to SEPTA’s communications department.

But under Federal Railroad Administration guidelines, the presence of restrooms on regional trains is not strictly determined by a specific travel distance requirement. Instead, it depends on policies and standards set by the specific service provider or authority.

SEPTA couldn’t say what that distance requirement was; neither could other commuter rail lines. And the Federal Transit Administration didn’t reply to a request for information.

Of SEPTA’s 13 Regional Rail lines, the shortest trip is the Cynwyd Line, with 22 minutes from beginning to Suburban Station, according to timetables on SEPTA’s website. The longest trip is on the Wilmington/Newark Line, with a ride of an hour and 27 minutes to Suburban Station from the outermost stop.

Scientifically speaking, the average adult can go two to five hours without needing a restroom. But, one doesn’t choose when nature calls, and not all riders are adults.

So, why not have restrooms on the train, even if they’re not required?

Logistics

“Plumbing has to be available, the electrical has to be available; they have to abide by existing regulations; they may not have the room to do that, and it costs money to do this,” said Eliezer Fich, a finance professor at Drexel University.

He is not off.

Since the current fleet of trains does not have restrooms installed, retrofitting them would be expensive, SEPTA says.

The agency doesn’t know exactly how costly it would be.

Onboard restrooms would require additional cleaning and maintenance, which SEPTA says would be another added expense.

And, because septic tanks would need to be emptied frequently, train cars would need to be taken out of service, which could result in delays that could lead to a loss of revenue — at a time when there are already talks of SEPTA cutting some Regional Rail service to make up for a lack of state funding.

Does this affect ridership?

Yes and no. Regional Rail average daily ridership a month ranged from 60,123 to 76,946 in the first 11 months of 2023, according to SEPTA figures. Most of those passengers are known as “captive riders,” Fich said.

“They really don’t have any other choice. They have to take the train, which suggests the ridership is not going to be dramatically affected by whether bathrooms are offered or not,” said Fich. “What will be affected is rider satisfaction.”

That can be seen in a Reddit thread from 2021 asking whether there were any restrooms on board.

“lol this isn’t Europe, or amtrak,” one user replied, as others recalled the many times they had needed to go while on the move. A user mentioned getting stuck on the train for two hours while commuting home.

“I had to pee so badly I was going to cry,” the user wrote.

Do other commuter rails have restrooms on the train?

It depends on the region. Much like Philly, and with the longest train commute time being an hour, Pittsburgh Regional Transit does not have restrooms on its trains.

However, New Jersey Transit commuter trains do, including the Atlantic City Rail Line, which serves Philadelphia — and has an end-to-end travel time of an hour and 34 minutes.

Each train has at least one restroom, barring technical or mechanical issues, NJ Transit says.

Likewise, Maryland’s MARC trains have at least one loo on each train for its three lines going to and from Washington.

Where to go to the restroom when you take Philly’s Regional Rail?

Since going on the train will not be possible for Philadelphians anytime soon, your best bet are stations’ restrooms.

There are 70 restrooms across more than 150 stations, but most close before noon.

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