U.S. warns it could force some Pennsylvania rail cars out of service

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy late Thursday warned that the department could soon force a Pennsylvania transit agency to stop using a fleet of railcars due to fire risks as he raised broad safety and financial concerns.

The Federal Railroad Administration on October 1 issued an emergency order requiring the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to address fire risks within 30 days from its Silverliner IV railcars after an urgent safety recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board following a series of five fires.

“SEPTA has not demonstrated sufficient capacity on its own to mitigate these significant safety and fiscal concerns,” Duffy wrote in a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

“If changes are not made immediately, it is only a matter of time before SEPTA’s crumbling commuter rail system erupts in flames and kills someone.” The rail system serves millions of riders yearly in the Philadelphia area.

SEPTA is the sixth-largest public transit system in the U.S. It provides service to five counties in the Greater Philadelphia area and connects to transit systems in Delaware and New Jersey.

Duffy noted that Philadelphia will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and “SEPTA’s rail and bus systems must be ready to serve tens of thousands of additional guests safely.”

A spokeswoman for Shapiro said the governor “has been fighting for additional recurring revenue to support SEPTA for the last two years – and as part of last year’s budget, he secured $46 million in new funding for SEPTA.”

She added Shapiro has sought another $167 million for SEPTA but state Senate Republicans have opposed the plan.

“Instead of issuing a press release, if Secretary Duffy actually wants to be helpful, he should call his fellow Republicans and get them to fund the Governor’s mass transit funding package for SEPTA,” she added.

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.

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

The cars are some of the oldest in the country 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.