SEPTA Trains Temporarily More Crowded As Safety Upgrade Installed

Photo Credit: Jeff Fusco

Here’s the good news, commuters: Over the next few months, SEPTA will install equipment on its trains to make your ride safer than ever.

The bad news? Until that work is done, trains on SEPTA’s regional rail network are likely to be crowded and unpleasant.

“We know that you’ve noticed and are annoyed by the shortages and crowding,” the transit agency said in a message to riders this month, “but we ask you to please bear with us while we complete this life-saving safety improvement work.”

What’s going on: SEPTA’s installing “positive train control” equipment along the network — yes, the kind of equipment you heard about (and that wasn’t in use) when an Amtrak train derailed on a curve in Frankford Junction last month, killing eight. As advertised, the equipment will regulate and enforce train speeds — but it has additional capabilities as well, including features that prevent train-to-train collisions at crossover locations, among others.

Work on the upgrade began in April and is expected to be complete by November, ahead of a federally mandated December 31st deadline. In the meantime, 10 or more rail cars are out of service at a time in order to complete the work by deadline.

“We’re doing everything possible to minimize the inconvenience of the daily car shortages by trying to have only one less car on a train and not on consecutive days,” SEPTA said in its message to passengers, “but there are times when this will happen.”

The agency additionally acknowledged: “With ridership at record breaking levels, taking even one car out of the revenue fleet can impact customers and service.”

SEPTA runs 740 trips across 13 regional rail lines daily.

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