New schedule and five more cars for SEPTA Regional Rail
New schedules for some lines will be posted Saturday, and at least five more railcars will join the rotation next week.
SEPTA has secured five more rail cars on lease, and is again amending schedules to ease overcrowding on Regional Rail lines.
The new schedules go into effect Monday and are available on the transit agency's website. They will affect some of SEPTA's busiest lines -- Glenside Combined, Lansdale/Doylestown, Manayunk/Norristown, Paoli/Thorndale and Warminster.
The transit agency said Friday that five leased cars from the Maryland Area Commuter Service would be added to the rotation Monday, and another five are expected to be added mid-week. The cost of the leases is about $8,000 per day for five cars.
SEPTA already has 18 leased cars in service, after having to pull one-third of its fleet to fix a structural defect. Increasing the leased fleet to 28 still leaves SEPTA well below its normal weekday capacity.
The crowding and delays are the result of cracks found in 115 of SEPTA's Silverliner V cars, which led the agency to pull all 120 such cars from service two weeks ago. Officials say they hope to announce the results of their investigation into the cracks next week.
The agency has said its commuter rail service will not get back to normal before the end of summer, and likely beyond.
"This is an evolving process, and we will continue to make changes to optimize service for our customers," General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel said in a news release Friday afternoon. "MARC, Amtrak and NJ Transit have been great partners in what is a very challenging time for our customers."
Since the schedules continue to evolve, customers are encouraged to regularly check SEPTA's website for the latest updates, or switch to the subway, trolley or bus lines, which have not experienced overcrowding.