PATCO Adds Trains For Eagles Home Opener During Halt To Overnight Service

Update: SEPTA has added more trains for Thursday's game, returning the Broad Street Line to its regular schedule for that time. Read more here.

SOUTH JERSEY — PATCO says you can have a couple weekday-overnight trains for the Eagles' home opener.

The Philadelphia Eagles open the NFL season Thursday night, days into PATCO's halt on 24-hour weekday service. But for South Jerseyans attending the game, PATCO will operate a bit later than usual.

On Monday, PATCO began a six-month pilot program suspending train service and closing stations from midnight through 4:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Each weeknight, the last train leaves at 11:30 p.m. before service resumes at 4:30 a.m. the following day.

• Read more: PATCO To Halt 24/7 Service: What To Know As Weekday Overnight Service Ends

On Thursday night, PATCO will roll out two additional New Jersey-bound trains departing from Philadelphia's 15/16th & Locust St station at midnight and 12:45 a.m.

Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Cuts to SEPTA raise another challenge for game-day travel as the Greater Philadelphia transportation authority faces a funding crisis.

In response, the Eagles are encouraging ticket-holders to arrive early, plan for additional travel time and try to be inside the stadium by 7:45 p.m. Fans should also carpool if possible.

Parking lots at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex will open at 1:30 p.m., which is earlier than usual for a night game.

PATCO doesn't go directly to Lincoln Financial Field, so using the rail service to reach the stadium requires PATCO travel in between.

PATCO, which links Philadelphia and Camden County, had long operated 24/7. The Eagles game will be the region's first major event since PATCO suspended weekday-overnight trains.

"We’ll be monitoring ridership and may adjust service for future large events if there is a high demand," PATCO said Wednesday on social media.

The weekday-overnight closures — designed to address safety and cleanliness — are scheduled to run until March, according to the Delaware River Port Authority, which operates PATCO. It's unclear what the DRPA will do afterward.

Weekend-overnight service remains unchanged.

See PATCO's upcoming train schedules.