NTSB calls for urgent action to address Pennsylvania railcar fire risks

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday urged the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to immediately move to eliminate fire risks in its fleet of Silverliner IV railcars.

The safety board said the outdated design of the railcars and the agency’s maintenance and operating practices represent “an immediate and unacceptable safety risk because of the incidence and severity of electrical fires that can spread to occupied compartments.”

The recommendations stem from the NTSB’s investigation into five fires in SEPTA cars since February. SEPTA, the sixth-largest public transit system in the United States, provides service to five counties in the Greater Philadelphia area and connects to transit systems in Delaware and New Jersey.

The NTSB called on SEPTA to suspend operation of the Silverliner IV fleet “until the transit agency determines the root causes of fires, develops and implements a plan to address these causes and identifies and corrects the organizational factors that have prevented effective risk mitigations.”

SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said at a press conference the railcars are safe and that SEPTA has instituted more frequent and thorough inspections.

SEPTA has 225 Silverliner IV railcars that are around 50 years old and represent two-thirds of its regional rail fleet but for financial reasons must keep using the cars.

“We have had to continue to operate these trains long beyond the time they should have been retired. However, we are confident that these trains are safe,” Sauer said, adding SEPTA is using the Silverliner IV less frequently than the rest of the fleet.

Halting use of the cars would require a two-thirds cut in service and would cost $2 billion but SEPTA is in dire funding straits, he added.

The cars are some of the oldest in the country, Sauer said, and the agency has developed a comprehensive set of 40 mitigation measures, including additional notifications and safety checks to personnel and audible alarms for fault lights.

“We are confident that we can safely continue service with the Silverliner IV fleet,” Sauer said.

The NTSB cited fires involving the Silverliner IV in Levittown, New Jersey, Paoli, Pennsylvania, as well as incidents in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania on Sept. 23 and Philadelphia on Sept. 25.

The NTSB said the repeated fires — despite SEPTA’s attempted fixes — show “organizational lapses that block effective risk mitigation.”