The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority last week discovered cracks in steel beams in the suspension system, and took the 120 Hyundai Rotem coaches – called Silverline Vs – out of service to fix them. Both say they are doing so as a precaution.
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With one-third of its Regional Rail rail fleet out of service, some commuters have been switching to buses or other means of transportation as suggested, while others dealt with delayed and packed trains. Trains are running behind schedule, with delays ranging from a few minutes to over a half-hour. Until the authority can lease equipment from other states, it’s streamlining some routes and urging commuters to find other ways to get into Center City Philadelphia. “I’ve never seen so many people on the platform, and it was hot”.
“It made it hard to get in after a long weekend”, said Lynne Suher, who left home 40 minutes earlier than normal for her ride to the city from the suburbs.
FILE – In this April 13, 2010, file photo, Min Ho Lee, right, the president and chief executive of South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem who died in November 2012, stands in front of one of the first Silverliner V passenger train coaches delivered to Philadelphia’s main transit agency, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, during a news conference in Philadelphia.
The transit union said Tuesday that the transit agency knew about the problem for at least a month. SEPTA has not announced how long the repairs will take, although Jeff Knueppel, SEPTA’s general manager, said vehicle shortages could persist throughout the summer. Extra lines on the Market Frankford and Broad Street lines will hopefully offset overcrowding, but for the Regional Rail’s 132,000 average daily riders, that won’t be much help. RTD spokesman Scott Reed said Tuesday the cars are being inspected as a precaution, but won’t be pulled from service.
That leaves 13,000 fewer regional rail seats, reducing service by 30 percent to 50 percent.
The transit agency serving Philadelphia and its suburbs is warning regional rail riders on the 2016 July 4 weekend of possible major disruptions in the days and weeks ahead after the company had to take about one-third of regional rail cars out of service due to a structural problem.
Starting Tuesday, SEPTA is implementing its modified Saturday schedule that was developed for weather emergencies, with added rush hour trips.
“Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, the MBTA is performing truck inspections on two of the older coaches in the fleet to ensure there are no issues”, he wrote.
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The rail cars used by the A-Line are about 5,000 pounds lighter and have a different weight distribution than those used in Philadelphia.
