Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday that his administration is distributing nearly $220 million to SEPTA to address a pair of infrastructure issues that have caused significant problems for riders in recent weeks.
The goal, officials said, is to fully restore Regional Rail service by Christmastime and reopen a recently damaged tunnel that allows trolleys to access Center City from West Philadelphia. Both problems have attracted the attention of federal regulators.
More than half of the $219.9 million in flexible capital funding from Harrisburg is earmarked for the commuter rail system, which has been running at low capacity since the Federal Railroad Administration mandated a slate of safety measures on Oct. 1.
The order came after the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report about five fires between February and September involving SEPTA’s Silverliner IV vehicles — 223 rail cars built in the 1970s that comprise about 60% of the Regional Rail fleet.
Detailed inspections of each car were completed Nov. 14, but many remain out of service as crews repair issues found during those reviews. The FRA has also given SEPTA until Dec. 5 to install heat detection circuits on each vehicle.
Currently, up to five cars a day are being cleared to return to the tracks, Scott Sauer, the authority’s general manager, said. “We expect to be close to full strength by mid-December,” he added.
SEPTA is soliciting bids from railcar manufacturers to replace the Silverliner IV fleet, though that process is expected to take a decade and cost $2 billion.
“Look, SEPTA riders don’t have the kind of time to wait 10 years, and I don’t have the patience to wait 10 years,” Shapiro said at a news conference announcing the funding Monday morning at the authority’s Frazer Shop and Yard in Chester County.
The Governor’s Office said $95 million of the total capital allocation will go toward upgrades to Regional Rail vehicles. Another $17 million is dedicated to leasing and buying cars from other agencies.
SEPTA has agreed to loan 10 coach vehicles from the Maryland Area Rail Commuter, or MARC, system, which provides train service to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and is pursuing the purchase of 20 more from Montreal.
More than $48 million in state money is being set aside to replace overhead wires along the trolley network and buy three catenary maintenance cars to inspect that infrastructure, officials said.
SEPTA’s Center City trolley, which serves the T routes, has been mostly shuttered since Nov. 7, after two October incidents in which passengers had to be evacuated when the vehicles were stranded underground.
Authority leaders believe the overhead catenary system sustained significant damage after SEPTA replaced a slider with a part of a different size. The tunnel is expected to remain closed through at least Nov. 30.
Other portions of the money will pay for the overhauling of components of Broad Street Line cars; upgrading 13 station escalators; purchasing new inspection technology; and improving the authority’s control center, according to Shapiro’s team.
“These funds are going to make a significant difference in our efforts to overcome the current crises but, more importantly, to prevent problems moving forward,” Sauer said.
Had the Shapiro administration not delivered the funding, which was requested by SEPTA, the authority would likely have had to again pull from its capital budget, Sauer said.
After a court ordered SEPTA to undo a slate of service cuts enacted in August, the authority received approval to transfer $394 million in capital dollars to cover its operating budget shortfall over the next two years. As a result, SEPTA leaders postponed several infrastructure projects, including the procurement of new buses and a project to make the Bristol railroad station accessible for riders with disabilities.
Shapiro, Democratic lawmakers and transit advocates have blamed SEPTA’s funding woes on GOP state Senate majority leaders, who have blocked efforts to devote a greater share of sales tax revenue to public transportation.
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, in a statement Monday, lamented that Democratic legislators and Shapiro rejected a GOP plan over the summer to tap into the Public Transportation Trust Fund.
“There is value in supporting both road projects and transit, and we took a significant step to unleash those dollars to help all 67 counties across Pennsylvania,” Pittman continued. “At that time, our commonsense solution was rejected by Democrats and Governor Shapiro in an effort to score cheap political points.”
Shapiro and others have noted that the measure would have taken more than $400 million out of the PTTF, an account set aside for transit, for road and bridge improvements. The $219.9 million is coming from the fund, but the allocation will not require SEPTA to put off other infrastructure projects, officials said.
Monday’s disbursement is the second time the governor has taken unilateral action to specifically support SEPTA. A year ago, Shapiro ‘flexed’ $153 million in federal highway funds to forestall service reductions, a move that continues to anger Republican lawmakers.
Amid longstanding accusations of mismanagement at SEPTA, particularly from GOP leaders, Shapiro gave a strong vote of confidence to Sauer, who has dealt with a myriad of crises since initially being named as interim general manager 12 months ago. His appointment was made permanent in June.
“After years of neglect, this leadership team is operating effectively,” Shapiro said.
