Dear Regional Rail Riders,
I want to thank Media/Wawa Line riders for their patience with us last night during an incident that led to a line suspension and residual delays throughout the evening – including a nearly three-hour delay for the 408 passengers on train #5343, and a 30+ minute delay for train #3548. At SEPTA, trust and accountability are two of our customer service values, and our riders deserve an apology and a transparent explanation.
Yesterday evening, a live wire fell on Media/Wawa Line train #5343 near 49th Street around 5:13 pm. As a result, the train could not proceed to the next station, and service on the entire line was temporarily suspended. Within minutes, SEPTA police, our safety professionals and mechanics were enroute. They worked over the next hour to de-energize and secure the wire, and partial Media/Wawa service was restored at approximately 6:15 pm.
As a result, inbound train #3548 was able to proceed to Center City with delays, but conditions remained unsafe for train #5343 to move until further repairs were made – meaning, passengers on #5343 continued to wait for assistance on a train with no power.
Typically, SEPTA has buses ready to help in situations like this, but the complexity of the site, dark conditions, number of passengers on board, and the distance they’d have to walk all made that typical response impractical. Instead, once service had been restored, we facilitated a transfer of all 408 passengers to two new trains so they could continue their trips safely. The train-to-train transfers began around 7 pm and were completed before 8 pm.
This was a complicated and complex situation, but our response to riders of train #5343 took too long. You are right to be frustrated. The Media/Wawa Line is used by thousands of people every day, and this incident meant late arrivals home, missed plans and less time with family.
We want to know more about your experiences on the Media/Wawa Line last night, and we want to hear it directly from you. That’s why SEPTA managers will be on board trains #5343 and #3548 tonight to talk face-to-face with passengers about what could’ve been done differently.
As always, Customer Service is available to record your feedback at 215-580-7800 or at septa.org/customer-service.
Scott A. Sauer, General Manager