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The Philadelphia Eagles are back Thursday night, and so are SEPTA sports express trains — at least for one night.
SEPTA has found a sponsor to bring back sports express trains on the Broad Street Line for Thursday night's NFL season opener between the Super Bowl LIX champions and the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field, according to sources.
The sponsorship also comes with free Broad Street Line rides home for fans, sources say.
Sources say the sponsorship covers just the Eagles vs. Cowboys game on Thursday at the Linc, meaning for future Birds games, Phillies games and other events at the sports complex, SEPTA will not offer the express service.
Sports express subways were among the first round of services cut by SEPTA in August due to a funding crisis.
Fans headed to and leaving the sports complex after games are accustomed to express service on the Broad Street Line, but SEPTA no longer offers the service. Under normal circumstances, SEPTA would run 10 express trains for Eagles home games.
In July, SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said normally, the transit authority can transport between 14,000 and 17,000 fans out of the sports complex in about an hour, using about 12 to 14 trains.
Those trains are no longer running on a normal schedule. Instead, the transit authority is running local service only with fewer trains, leading to longer wait times and more crowded trains.
The sponsorship, however, will allow for the service to return only for Thursday night.
Tom Dougherty
Tom Dougherty is a digital content producer for CBS Philadelphia. Before joining CBS Philadelphia, Tom covered sports for NBC Sports Philadelphia. He currently covers breaking news and sports.