SEPTA misses another Silverliner V deadline

SEPTA riders will have to wait a little longer for more Silverliner V regional rail cars.

The next three cars, which were scheduled to roll off the South Philadelphia assembly line Dec. 20, are being delayed again.

SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney declined to say precisely when the cars would be delivered, but said it would be “soon.”

The three Silverliner V pilot cars in service now were assembled in South Korea as the first of 170 new cars that will replace the aging Silverliner II and III fleets.

SEPTA had originally planned to receive six cars this month, but problems with workmanship and late shipments to the plant have caused delays.

The three cars in question had wiring and cable installations damaged when workers mistakenly drilled through them during assembly.

Maloney said SEPTA was focused on ensuring that the cars “are done right” and have no problems when accepted from United Transit Systems, the consortium building the cars.

Separately, SEPTA CFO and treasurer Richard Burnfield told a SEPTA Board meeting on Thursday that ridership was up 4 percent last month from the previous year.

This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase in ridership for the authority, which closed November with a $6.4 million surplus for the fiscal year.


Contact the reporter at acampisi@planphilly.com

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