From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!
SEPTA has run into another obstacle that will prevent the transit agency from meeting the latest federally mandated deadline to repair its aging fleet of Silverliner railcars.
The agency is under a federal extension that mandates it to add thermal sensors to the cars by the end of this week. Andrew Busch, spokesperson for SEPTA, said Wednesday that the agency will not meet that deadline.
The reason? A shortage in a crucial component of the repair work.
SEPTA has bought every piece of wire available in North America to complete the railcars’ thermal detection systems, Busch said, and the agency still doesn’t have enough material to finish the massive project.
“So we’re waiting on some more to come in. It’s rare that an agency like SEPTA, or any transit agency, would be purchasing so much of that product,” Busch said.
The lack of supplies will push completion of the work back about two weeks.
“We expect it’s going to be between 20 and 30 cars that can’t be finished,” Busch said.