City Council confront SEPTA over Silverliner IV safety inspections

SEPTA Ends Sales of Tokens in move to Update Fare Payments, in Philadelphia, PA — Source: NurPhoto / Getty

After weeks of frustration, the public and City Council finally had the chance to voice their concerns after SEPTA pulled hundreds of railcars out of service due to safety issues.

“I’m not here to beat up SEPTA today. All I’m trying to do is get answers,” said Councilmember Mike Driscoll, who represents District 6.

SEPTA officials answered questions during Thursday’s meeting, but when asked for a timeline on when service would return to normal, General Manager Scott Sauer said, “Normal is a ways off at this point.”

The meeting followed SEPTA’s decision to pull some Silverliner IV railcars from service in response to a federal emergency order issued after a series of fires.

“It’s been absolutely horrific. I don’t understand how we got to where we are today,” said Bettina Rhodes of Merion Station. “People just need to come together and figure out how to fund this and to fix this problem because it’s a real issue that’s affecting so many people.”

The National Transportation Safety Board warned that the outdated design and maintenance practices on the railcars posed an “immediate and unacceptable safety risk.”

All 225 cars must be inspected by the end of the month. As of Thursday night, only 52 inspections had been completed, and just six cars had returned to service.

“While this is inconvenient, it underscores the heightened priority this has become for the safety of our riders and employees,” said Sauer.

Sauer said SEPTA has made progress on a range of initiatives — from additional notifications and safety checks to audible alarms for fault lights, and rail operations have adjusted vehicle usage to reduce hours of service of these aging cars.

Lance Haver, the plaintiff in the lawsuit that helped block service cuts, also spoke at the meeting. He urged SEPTA to take drastic action.

“If they really want to solve the problem, they can sell their headquarters at 1234 Market Street, move to Broad and Olney, and use the money to buy new train cars,” Haver said.

Passengers have reported long wait times, packed cabins and shortened trains since the cars were pulled for enhanced inspections.

“I go to the station, I do not know if the train will be there. There’s info on the clock, but you don’t really know if it’s true or not,” said Mitch Tannon of Northeast Philadelphia.

“A little more expensive because now I have to take Ubers just to get to work on time, so that’s very inconvenient,” added Amir Bostic of Olney.

The agency is exploring options to lease or purchase replacement cars, though a full fleet overhaul could cost up to $2 billion and take a decade to complete.