SEPTA has completed inspections on its Silverliner IV rail cars but it will be at least another month before the entire fleet returns to service, the transit agency’s General Manager Scott Sauer announced.
“Our rail equipment, engineering and maintenance employees have worked around the clock for weeks now to get us to this important milestone. I want to thank them specifically for all the hard work that they have done and will continue to do moving forward,” Sauer said during a press conference on Friday, Nov. 14.
The announcement occurred the day of SEPTA’s federally-mandated deadline to inspect all 223 of their Silverliner IV rail cars following a report on multiple fires involving the trains. Sauer said SEPTA will return five of the rail cars per day to service, making it more reliable for customers.
“We understand that the recent service disruptions on Regional Rail have wreaked havoc on the daily
lives of our riders,” Sauer said. “We appreciate their patience as we work to mitigate the canceled trips,
long delays, and crowded railcars.”
Ahead of the deadline, SEPTA had canceled at least two dozen Regional Rail trains for Thursday and Friday, marking the fourth and fifth days in a row the agency had made the cancellations.
The cancellations impacted the Airport, Chestnut Hill West, Fox Chase and Warminster lines, the agency said.
The trains canceled for Thursday and Friday morning were: 9411, 412, 425, 802, 809 and 814.
The following trains were also canceled for both Thursday and Friday afternoon/evening: 9426, 9435, 436, 449, 9450, 9459, 460, 473, 821, 826, 833, 838, 845, 850, 857, 862.
The inspections led to weeks of crowded trains, missed stops, delays and last-minute cancelations.
The transit agency said it was running shorter trains since some are out of service every day. There are about 100 riders in each train car, with about two or three cars a train. That means about 200-300 riders are affected by every canceled train.
The cancellations came after SEPTA was granted a two week extension on Oct. 31, 2025, to inspect the fleet of rail cars, which began after the NTSB called for the mass transit provider to suspend the operation of the entire Silverliner IV fleet until they determined the exact causes of the recent train fires.
While the safety inspections are complete, the agency is also working to meet a Dec. 5 deadline for installing heat sensors on trains. Most newer model trains already have them, according to SEPTA, but its older fleet is not equipped with this safety measure.
SEPTA also found minor things to fix on the rail cars which took them out of service even longer. Officials told NBC10 the extra work ranged from minutes to hours to a full day.
To help alleviate some of the pressure on SEPTA’s trains, the agency made a deal with the Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail (MARC) system to lease 10 of their train cars for six months starting in mid-December.
The agency said riders can expect disruptions until Jan. 2026.
The completion of the inspections also come as SEPTA union leaders representing 5,000 bus, subway, trolley operators and mechanics have authorized a strike vote that will take place on Sunday. The union said the workers continue to work without a contract in place and they’re seeking a two-year contract. The union says a strike may be necessary.
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