Word goes out to lottery winners for special train passes for Pope Francis' Philadelphia visit

Word is going out to the winners of a lottery for special train passes for the weekend of Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority on Thursday is notifying those who requested a total of 328,045 passes. They will have three days to complete the purchase, or someone else will be selected.

The agency is capping ridership at 175,000 for each day of Francis' Sept. 26-27 visit.

About 20,000 of the commuter rail tickets remain unsold.

Overwhelming demand last week crashed a SEPTA website and forced a halt to ticket sales.

SEPTA is limiting service during the papal visit to select stations.