SEPTA Mired In Nightmare Delays After NTSB Report

PHILADELPHIA, PA — SEPTA is warning riders around the region that all regional rail lines are facing significant delays and cancellations in the wake of safety measures implemented following the recent report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB sounded the alarm late last week on SEPTA's Silverliner IV railcars, some of the oldest railcars in the nation, as posing a special electrical fire risk.

"Due to mechanical issues and federally-mandated enhanced safety measures, all trains are currently operating with at least two or fewer cars," SEPTA said in a statement Tuesday that was shared on their social media channels and website. "Delays, overcrowding and cancellations are expected."

Previous coverage: NTSB Issues Urgent Warning Over Safety Of Half Of SEPTA Fleet

A total of 225 of SEPTA's 390 railcar fleet are Silverliner IVs.

All morning long Tuesday, regional rail lines were operating with regular delays of anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, in the best case. Several trains were canceled due to mechanical issues or unspecified operator issues.

SEPTA says that due to their budget crunch, many of the aging railcars have been in service for far longer than they should have been.

"Operations staff will continue to remove from service railcars displaying any indicators that have been identified as possible root causes of previous fire incidents," SEPTA said in a statement this week. "Over the next month, as SEPTA complies with the FRA Emergency Order, Silverliner IV railcars will be removed from service for inspections and to implement mitigation practices developed together with NTSB and FRA."

Riders took to social media to express their frustration.

"SEPTA needs to start giving out refunds or partial refunds any time trains are cancelled, significantly delayed, or skip your stop at full capacity after we already tapped in," one rider wrote."Raising the fare prices and providing LESS reliable service is an absolute disgrace."

"So SEPTA let me get this straight, I pay the huge increase on my weekly anywhere pass now and all I get for it are cancellations or trains that are consistently 2 cars short of what they were before???" another wrote. "The incompetence of your upper management has become staggering."

The NTSB report came after a series of fires wracked the rail system this year, including two fires in late September in Philadelphia and Fort Washington. A massive blaze in Paoli in July also drew wider attention.

In searching for a cause for the fires, the NTSB pointed both to the "outdated design" of the Silverliner IVs as well as SEPTA's maintenance and operating practices.

You can see the NTSB's entire report online here.