Regional Rail Train Car Availability: Steady Progress, More Work Ahead
As we complete critical safety work on our Regional Rail network, we are working to keep customers informed about our progress. This page provides a visual snapshot of Regional Rail train car availability. All SEPTA Silverliner IV cars have completed Federal Railroad Administration-mandated inspections, and many have been repaired and returned to service. However, a significant number are still undergoing repairs, which limits overall capacity.
The chart below shows weekday train car availability since November 10, indicating improvement as more cars return to service. While there’s still work ahead, these gains reflect meaningful progress toward restoring full capacity. We’ll continue posting weekly updates to keep you informed.
Train car availability directly impacts what service we can run every day. During this crisis, we’ve had to make modifications to our service every day to keep as many trains servicing as many stations as possible. Below is a general breakdown of the impacts to service at different levels of car availability:
Less than 50%: Not enough cars to run every train. Select trains were cancelled the day before to give riders as much notice as possible, and remaining trains ran with two cars only. To handle crowding and compensate for riders being passed-up when trains become full, most express trains operated as locals, and some trains focused on inner stations only to pick up passed-up riders.
Between 50% and 60%: Enough cars to run every train, but most with only two cars. To handle crowding and compensate for riders being passed-up when trains become full, most express trains operated as locals, and some trains focused on inner stations only to pick up passed-up riders.
Above 60%: Enough cars to resume normal service as originally scheduled — including AM express service. Most trains operate with three or more cars, reducing crowding and surprise pass-ups.
Understanding Service Impacts: Cancellations
We know reliable service matters to you, and we want to be transparent about the challenges we’re working through. Train car availability is still below our target due to ongoing repairs and maintenance, and this can affect when and where trains run.
The chart below shows scheduled trips versus cancellations for each Regional Rail line, broken down by time of day (early AM, AM peak, midday, PM peak and evening/late night). This helps you see when cancellations occur most frequently.
Understanding Service Impacts: Unplanned Expressed Trips Due to Crowding
Limited rail car availability has made it difficult to provide the space riders expect during peak travel times. When trains become overcrowded, crews sometimes need to “express” trains—skipping scheduled station stops—to maintain safety and keep service moving.
The table below shows how often AM peak trains were expressed due to crowding since the start of November. For each instance, you’ll find the Regional Rail line, scheduled arrival time at Suburban Station, train number, the station where the train began expressing, and the number of times this occurred.
If your station is between the “Expressed from” station and Center City, your stop was passed over when this express occurred. We’re sharing this information so you can plan with confidence while we work toward restoring full service.
During this ongoing service disruption, we recommend that Regional Rail riders:
- Explore using the SEPTA Bus and/or Metro network for your trip. See options using the Alternative Service page or the SEPTA.org trip planner.
- Consider riding at off-peak times to ease crowding.
- Check for the latest service alerts for your route at septa.org/alerts, and listen for platform and on-board audio announcements about service changes during your journey.
- Sign up to receive push notifications for service alerts about your line using the SEPTA app (from the schedule tab, look up trip and tap the heart in the top right) or Transit app (from the home screen, tap your line and tap the “pin” button in the top right).
We’ve made meaningful progress in restoring inspected rail, but we know there’s still a long way to go to meet customer expectations. SEPTA remains committed to continuing this work and keeping riders informed every step of the way. Your feedback and patience are invaluable as we move toward more consistent and dependable Regional Rail service.