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PATCO to look at factory amid delay of cars

Top PATCO officials, frustrated with continuing delays in getting refurbished trains into service, this week will visit the New York state factory where the cars are being rebuilt.

Top PATCO officials, frustrated with continuing delays in getting refurbished trains into service, this week will visit the New York state factory where the cars are being rebuilt.

John Rink, general manager of PATCO, and Mike Venuto, chief engineer for the Delaware River Port Authority, will meet Wednesday and Thursday with officials at the Alstom Transport Inc. factory in Hornell.

The first eight refurbished cars have been failing tests for months on the PATCO tracks. PATCO, which hired Alstom in 2010 for $194 million to rebuild its 120-car fleet, is more than a year behind schedule in returning the trains to service.

"It's very frustrating," said John Hanson, president of PATCO and chief executive of its corporate parent, the DRPA. "The good news is, we're not encountering new problems. The bad news is, we're still encountering the same problems."

The main issues continue to be with software that affects communications, braking, automatic train control, and propulsion, Hanson said.

The rebuilt cars are undergoing tests that require them to run 500 miles, under full weight loads, with no mechanical failures. That's the equivalent of about four daily round-trips for a week on the 14-mile rail line between Center City and Lindenwold.

"We're still getting failures," Hanson said Monday.

Part of the problem apparently is the complexity involved in incorporating new computer technology into the operational systems of 45-year-old train cars, he said.

The DRPA decided to save money in 2010 by rebuilding the old cars for $194 million rather than buying all-new cars. SEPTA paid $274 million for its 120 new Silverliner V rail cars, the last of which was delivered last year.

The stainless steel PATCO bodies are the originals, and the cars still have their old wheel assemblies and traction motors.

Hanson declined to predict when the first rebuilt cars might be put into service.

"We're not in a position to give a date," he said.