The PRT announced a project to bury the elevated tracks between 23rd to 46th streets in the 1920s.[5] The tunnel from 23rd to 32nd streets was completed by 1933, but construction on the remaining segment was put on hiatus due to the Great Depression and World War II.[5] The PRT went bankrupt in 1939 and was reorganized as the PTC,[6] which began building the rest of the tunnel in 1947.[5]
34th Street is one of three stations on the Market–Frankford Line that is not ADA-accessible, the other two being 11th Street and Spring Garden stations.[7] The addition of elevators in the station was announced in SEPTA's 2021–2032 Capital Program proposal; the station platforms would be rehabilitated and made accessible to passengers with disabilities by 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 million.[1] In 2022, SEPTA revised the project's budget to $31 million and estimated design and construction would be complete by 2025.[8] The project now also includes the renovation of the existing platforms, new signage, lighting, and security cameras, as well as waterproofing improvements.[8]
Station layout
Unlike most underground Market–Frankford Line stations, 34th Street has a single island platform.