CAMDEN -- After what seems like ages of waiting, Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia is only about two weeks away.
Anyone lucky enough to nab one of the sought-after tickets to one of the pope's appearances or people who just want to be around the action in Center City now just have to think about how they are getting there.
The PATCO High Speed Line figures to be a key path for pilgrims to get into the city.
The route's Lindenwold, Woodcrest, Ferry Avenue and Broadway stations will be open to people who bought special papal passes (which are still available, but only sold online through Friday) or already have a regular Freedom Card loaded with credit.
If you're taking PATCO, here's a few things to expect along your journey.
Getting to the station
The Lindenwold, Woodcrest and Ferry Avenue stations were chosen because they have the most parking spots available for commuters. Lindenwold has about 3,300, Woodcrest has about 2,700 and Ferry Avenue has about 1,900 spots. Broadway doesn't have any parking, but will serve as a transfer point for those taking the RiverLine from points north.
Trains will begin running at 6 a.m. both days and will continue to head west throughout the day until 4 p.m. PATCO General Manager Rink said when people arrive at the station, they will be directed by police in the parking lots, or if the lots are full, to parking off site.
"We'll have special areas where friends or family can drop people off," Rink said. "From there they'll proceed to the station."
The waiting game
With the huge amount of people expected to be going into the city for the papal visit, officials expect lines to develop quickly.
PATCO assistant General Manager Ben Cornelius said people will go through additional security measures before they enter the station. However, they are still exploring options and haven't decided on what those measures might be. There will be restrictions on what items are allowed and that list is almost identical to what's prohibited past security for the events in the city. Strollers will be allowed on the trains but they must be closed during transit.
Crowd control
Rink said they are going to use the stations' fare gates as staging areas to control how many people can get up to the platforms.
"We learned our lesson from the World Series parade in regards to people on platforms," he said. "We will control the amount of people and how they get to the platform in order to avoid a crowding free-for-all."
Empty trains will arrive at each station every 15 minutes. Once they are loaded, they will head directly to the single stop in Philadelphia at 9th and Locust streets.
ALSO: How Phillies' parade snafu helped SEPTA, PATCO prep for Pope
About 720 people can fit sitting and standing in each train. Once each group of 720 pass through the fare gates, PATCO employees will pause the line so that the departing group can get to the platform and get organized to board the train.
Cornelius said employees and police officers will be stationed to guide people once they reach the platforms.
"We'll have them stationed where the train doors will be away from the platform edge," he said. Express trains will pass through other stations on their way to the city, so officials want to make sure people don't get too close to the edge.
Getting home
Both officials said it was important for people to remember that they're expressing people into the city all day, so getting home might not be a snap.
"It's kind of like going to an Eagles game," Cornelius said. "People make their way to the stadium to tailgate over the course of couple hours, but when the game is over, everyone wants to leave at once and there's a traffic jam."
Since they're spending several hours bringing people into the city, the trains will take just as long to get all those people home. Officials estimated they could send about 10,000 per hour back over the bridge, but the process could take a while. Eastbound service will begin at 5:30 p.m. and won't stop until everyone's home.
Alex Young may be reached at ayoung@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlexYoungSJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
