SEPTA officials spent part of Thursday at City Hall in Philadelphia, facing questions from council members over its federal mandate to inspect more than 200 Silverliner IV railcars that were scrutinized by federal agencies due to a fire risk.
The deadline to inspect all of the trains is October 31.
During the public hearing, General Manager Scott Sauer testified that crews are working around the clock to complete the inspections to meet the deadline, but he admitted there’s a chance they could miss it.
Sauer said the transit agency could ask for an extension if more inspections are needed after the deadline passes.
“We’re running about 140 cars during the service day on a normal service day; prior to this we were running close to 300. We have a lot of cars out and we are making sure that they are ready to go before they come back,” Sauer said.
The train cars have been taken out of service while the work is performed, which has led to delays, cancellations and overcrowding.
So far, Sauer said SEPTA has inspected 52 trains and plans to ramp up efforts to finish most of if not all, of the inspections by the end of the month.
Council members emphasized the importance of getting the work done because of the growing frustration from riders who have been impacted by reduced service.
Kim Boyd, who uses Regional Rail, said she has been running behind for work because the trains have been arriving late.
“It’s been delayed every day since they took some of the trains out of service. It’s been delayed every day, and when we get on at Fern Rock, the train is so packed that it’s not stopping there, so they say they are expressing to Temple University, so they have to wait for the next train. It’s frustrating,” Boyd said.
Earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board urged SEPTA to immediately stop using its Silverliner IV railcars because they pose a safety risk due to electrical fires that could spread. Then, the Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order that required SEPTA to take immediate action.