The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has selected STV to lead a procurement of up to 200 new M5 metro rail cars for SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line (MFL), which is the authority’s busiest rapid transit line.
STV will provide project management, design, engineering, testing, inspection, commissioning and maintenance support services for the planned procurement. The new vehicles are a key part in the rejuvenation of SEPTA’s MFL. The MFL carries approximately 54,000 commuters a day from the 69th St. Transportation Center just outside west Philadelphia, Pa., through Center City to the Frankford Transportation Center in northeast Philadelphia.
"These upgrades will greatly benefit the MFL’s daily riders during their diverse commuting needs – from work and school to leisure activities,” said James Martin, P.E., PMP, senior vice president and head of the vehicles group at STV.
The M5 vehicle procurement is a key component of a larger suite of improvements for the MFL, which last received new vehicles in the late 1990s. STV notes that at the time, they were the first heavy rail cars in SEPTA’s fleet to feature electronic destination signs. Between 2003 and 2006, the cars underwent minor rehabilitations and upgrades to the interiors.
SEPTA’s MFL upgrades will be partially funded by a $317 million Federal Transit Administration grant the authority recently received courtesy of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That is the largest grant SEPTA has ever received.
