SEPTA requests federal extension to complete Silverliner IV inspections

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- UPDATE: SEPTA granted extension to finish inspecting Silverliner IV railcars after series of fires


SEPTA is asking the federal government for a two-week extension to complete inspections of its aging Silverliner IV railcars.

The transit agency has requested that the deadline be moved to Nov. 14. The current deadline, set by the Federal Railroad Administration, is Friday.

READ MORE | Public, City Council confront SEPTA over Silverliner IV safety inspections

The request follows concerns raised by the National Transportation Safety Board over a series of fires involving the 50-year-old railcars.

With only one day until the deadline, SEPTA said 111 out of 223 Silverliner IV rail cars have been inspected. So far, they've spent 7,000 hours inspecting rail cars.

"We're doing the best we can," said Greg Buzby who is SEPTA's Regional Rail vehicle engineering manager. "We're working around the clock at all the locations, all the shifts. A lot of these guys working doubles."

On Thursday afternoon, Action News got a first-hand look as crews made repairs and installed new thermal detectors that will shut down the railcars if it detects dangerously high temperatures.

"On top of pulling cars out of service and inspecting them, if a defect is found, they can't go back into service until they're repaired, so we do have a bit of a backlog of those repairs," said Buzby.

Buzby said 47 railcars are back in service, but her hopes to have more on the tracks next week.

"I think that's great. I'm looking forward to it," said Floyd Alexander who travels to Wilmington.

"I'm hoping their time schedule is accurate, and we're back to business as usual because this is ridiculous," said Lisa Poe from Germantown.

Riders are tired of the delays, cancellations, and crowded trains.

"It's been terrible. It's just unbelievable that I'm leaving my house two hours before I need to get to work every day," said Colin Cherico from Blue Bell.

Buzby said he appreciates the commuters' patience.

"It's frustrating for us too because we want to provide good service, but we have to make sure the vehicles are safe," said Buzby.

"We do have to be safe, but I feel like we should be compensated in some kind of way every time there's a delay, every time there's an inconvenience. Customer satisfaction too they should be concerned about," said Poe.

SEPTA said if the FRA denies their request, they'll comply with the new orders.

As for getting more railcars, SEPTA is still looking into leasing or buying used ones for the short term, but that could take months.

They're expediting the procurement of a new fleet, but that usually takes about six years.

SEE ALSO | NTSB issues urgent safety warning to SEPTA over fire risks involving Silverliner IV railcars