SEPTA has temporarily sidelined 18 Silverliner V rail cars that had been repaired by manufacturer Hyundai Rotem and were recently returned to service, or had been readied for service, according to officials.
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The yanking of the rail cars from service is in response to a “minor design modification,” transit agency officials said.
According to a SEPTA release, small modifications will be made to the foot that supports the new equalizer beam at both ends. The changes come after a joint inspection as part of an ongoing effort to evaluate the performance of the new system.
Clearance issues were detected that resulted in minimal and occasional contact between old and new components, said a SEPTA press release. Hyundai Rotem quickly made a design change and cars with this modification will be available for service later this week. Hyundai Rotem is still expected to return enough rail cars to allow for normal weekday Regional Rail schedules by SEPTA’s preferred date of Oct. 3, or Oct. 10 at the latest, according to officials.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
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SEPTA will also be using leased locomotives and rail cars during the repairs, making it possible to resume regular weekday schedules ahead of schedule. The overall time-frame for completing repairs and returning all Silverliner Vs to service remains early-to-mid November.
“SEPTA is committed to making sure the repair process is done correctly to ensure a long-lasting life,” said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel. “This is why we are conducting thorough tests and inspections, such as the one on Saturday that revealed this problem. All parties involved are working around the clock to restore the Silverliner V fleet to service in a timely fashion. We sincerely regret the continued inconvenience to our customers.”
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For the latest service updates related to the Silverliner V repairs, please click here.
