Some Regional Rail Riders Frustrated By Delays, Others Have No Problems

SEPTA removed a third of its Regional Rail cars from service after discovering a structural defect. Passengers might be safer, but many aren't happy.

FILE - A SEPTA regional train, the R7, rolls into 30th Street station in Philadelphia in this Nov. 16, 2004 file photo. Four hundred workers at a Philadelphia-area regional rail system went on strike Saturday morning June 14, 2014, shutting down 13 train lines that carry commuters to the suburbs and Philadelphia International Airport. Subways, trolleys and buses operated by SEPTA will continue to run. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma, File)

Photo by Jacqueline Larma/AP

You may have noticed it this morning.

SEPTA announced Monday that 120 Regional Rail cars — a third of its fleet — were taken out of service after a structural defect was discovered. About 13,000 seats were removed, leaving between 30 percent and 50 percent fewer seats on individual lines. Most weekday Regional Rail trains are now operating on modified Saturday schedules.

Basically, delays and packed cars (with passengers standing shoulder-to-shoulder) were to be expected during this morning’s commute, and you can continue to anticipate similar issues in the coming weeks.

Enraged commuters took to Twitter to vent.

https://twitter.com/leez_inthetrap/status/750324802045476864

A few commuters reported having perfectly fine journeys this morning. Others said they’d rather get to work late than not at all, assuming SEPTA prevented a disaster in discovering the defect and putting the cars out of service.

But tomorrow will be the true test, as many likely stayed home from work today following July 4th.

SEPTA is currently working out refunds for ticket-holders who waited for more than 15 minutes for service.

Despite some tweets, including one from SEPTA, Amtrak is not currently accepting SEPTA tickets.

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