SEPTA Details Regional Rail Service Adjustments for July 5th
Silverliner V Rail Cars Out of Service Due to Structural Defect
PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 4, 2016) – SEPTA Regional Rail will operate on a modified Saturday schedule starting Tuesday, July 5th, with the Silverliner V portion of the rail fleet out of service due to an equipment defect. SEPTA will also bolster service on transit modes, including the Market-Frankford Line, Broad Street Line, and city and suburban trolleys, to accommodate displaced riders.
Regional Rail: Starting Tuesday, SEPTA is implementing a modified Saturday schedule that was developed for weather emergencies, with added rush hour trips. This schedule will remain in place on weekdays until further notice. Service during the morning and evening rush hours will run as close to every 30 minutes as possible.
Trains will operate on all lines and to all stations, with the exception of the Cynwyd Line, which will operate with shuttle buses. SEPTA is working to provide as much capacity as possible, however, customers should expect crowded conditions. Customers should also be aware that once capacity is reached on-board, trains will not be able to make stops to pick up additional riders, particularly at stations closest to Center City. For this reason, SEPTA urges customers who use these stations to consider using alternate SEPTA services. The modified schedules will be posted on SEPTA’s website, http://www.septa.org, by Monday evening.
Alternate Transit Options: Service will be bolstered on city and suburban transit routes to help provide options for displaced riders.
The Market-Frankford Line, Broad Street Line, Norristown High Speed Line and Route 101/102 Trolleys will all operate with expanded rush-hour service levels, providing more frequent service and added capacity. Morning rush hour service will be extended to 10 a.m. Evening rush hour service will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bus routes will be monitored for additional ridership and service enhanced where possible. Customers who have purchased Weekly and Monthly TrailPasses can use them for travel on transit modes. SEPTA is also urging customers who have purchased TrailPasses to hold onto them so they can be turned in for a credit on a future pass purchase. SEPTA is currently developing a plan for providing fare credits.
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Parking for Transit Modes: SEPTA is securing additional parking at several key points that provide convenient access to transit modes.
AT&T Station on the Broad Street Line, at the Sports Complex in South Philadelphia, will offer the most parking options. SEPTA has secured 1,600 spots at the former Naval Hospital at 1600 Pattison Avenue. Spaces are also available in the Citizens Bank Park lot at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. For those who can use the Market-Frankford Line, 300 spots will be available in the lot at 601 North Columbus Boulevard (on Columbus at the end of Spring Garden Street). The Spring Garden station is a short walk from this lot. SEPTA garages at Frankford Transportation Center and Norristown Transportation Center have existing capacity that can be utilized by customers for access to the Market-Frankford Line and Norristown High Speed Line. SEPTA is working with the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, suburban municipalities and counties, and a variety of partners throughout the region to find additional parking that can provide access to transit routes. Updates on available spaces will be provided as information is available. Customers may also want to look at options from the Philadelphia Parking Authority at http://www.philapark.org/locator/.
These service adjustments are being made following discovery of a structural defect with the Silverliner V Regional Rail cars that has resulted in these trains being taken out of service for the immediate future. The Silverliner V structural defect was discovered early Friday morning by SEPTA railroad vehicle maintenance personnel. Follow-up inspections with the fleet showed that there was a problem with cracking in the main suspension systems. All Silverliner Vs, which make up approximately one-third of SEPTA’s Regional Rail fleet, were taken out of service within 24 hours of the discovery of the defect.
SEPTA will work with Hyundai Rotem, the rail car manufacturer, to resolve the problems. The suspension systems are still under warranty, and Hyundai Rotem is working cooperatively with SEPTA to locate and expedite the procurement of materials to repair or replace the failed suspension components.
SEPTA will continue to provide updates to its riders and the public throughout this process.
For more information, visit http://www.septa.org.
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