Philadelphia’s annual Welcome America is a multi-day festival with multicultural and multigenerational events celebrating America’s birthday in America’s birthplace – Philadelphia. The citywide festival is packed with multiple fireworks displays, free concerts, free museum days, community events, free outdoor movie screenings, block parties and more. The celebration ends on July 4th with a concert & fireworks on the Ben Franklin Parkway. For a full list of events, please check the Welcome America events page.
Visitors to the city on Friday, July 4 can take advantage of added service on the [B] Broad Street Line, [L] Market-Frankford Line as well as late night Regional Rail service from Jefferson, Suburban and William H. Gray III 30th St. stations after the fireworks.
On Independence Day (Friday, July 4), all SEPTA modes of transit operate on a Sunday schedule except bus routes 204, 310, 311 and LUCY, which do not operate. On July 4, please refer to the Sunday schedule of the SEPTA service you wish to ride. Routes that do not offer Sunday service will not operate.
Getting to the Welcome America Event
If you’re headed to Wawa’s Welcome America celebration, SEPTA is a great way to ensure you arrive on time. Nearby stations include 15th Street Station on the [L] Market-Frankford Line or Race-Vine Station on the [B] Broad Street Line.
If you’re taking PATCO into Philadelphia from New Jersey, riders can take the [B] Broad Street Line to get to Ben Franklin Parkway. Exit PATCO at 12th/13th & Locust Street Station. Take the escalator or stairs to concourse level, exit PATCO’s fare gates and follow signs to exit to street level. Head north on S 13th Street toward St. James Street, then left onto Walnut Street. SEPTA’s Walnut/Locust Station is on the corner of Broad & Walnut streets.
Extra Late Night Regional Rail Service on July 4-5
Late night train service is added to the following Regional Rail lines. The July 4 PDF schedules are available for download. They will also be posted at Center City and outlying Regional Rail stations.
- Airport
- Chestnut Hill West
- Fox Chase
- Lansdale/Doylestown
- Manayunk/Norristown
- Paoli/Thorndale
- Trenton
- Warminster
- Wawa
- West Trenton
- Wilmington/Newark
Extra Metro Service on July 4-5
10 extra [B2] Broad Street Express trains depart Fern Rock Transit Center every 10 minutes from 6:10 pm to 11 pm to provide service to the FIFA game as well as July 4 events.
3 extra [L] Market-Frankford Line trains provide service from 6 pm until the conclusion of the concert and fireworks.
Bus Detours on July 4-5
Two major events directly impact SEPTA bus routes on July 4, with some detours continuing into July 5. Be sure to regularly check bus detours & alerts for up-to-date information on your route.
Please note: Detours are subject to change and additional detours could be added throughout the day due to unscheduled road closures.
Friday, July 4
5:30 am to 3 pm
- Route 9
- Route 21
- Route 38
- Route 42
- Route 57
Friday, July 4
8 am to 3 pm
- Route 4
- Route 5
- Route 7
- Route 16
- Route 17
- Route 23
- Route 27
- Route 31
- Route 32
- Route 33
- Route 44
- Route 45
- Route 47
- Route 47M
- Route 48
- Route 61
- Route 124
- Route 125
Friday, July 4-Saturday, July 5
3 pm to 5 am
- Route 7
- Route 32
- Route 33
- Route 38
- Route 43
- Route 48
- Route 49