SEPTA receives leased rail cars from MARC to aid regional rail service capacity squeeze

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) received the 10 rail coach cars it’s leasing from Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail (MARC) on Friday, Dec. 5.

SEPTA signed the one-year agreement with MARC last month to provide some relief to customers in the coming weeks while its fleet of Silverliner IV Regional Rail trains are gradually repaired and returned to service.

The lease is being funded via the nearly $220 million in additional capital dollars allocated by Gov. Josh Shapiro on Nov. 24 for safety and infrastructure improvements.

“Thanks to the governor’s continued support of SEPTA, we can enhance safety and reliability on Regional Rail,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer. “We are also grateful for MARC’s partnership on this lease agreement. This has been an extremely difficult time for our Regional Rail riders, and the MARC cars will allow us to add much-needed capacity for our customers.”

SEPTA notes that it continues to make repairs to its Silverliner IV trains following the completion of federally mandated inspections of the entire fleet.

While SEPTA says that Regional Rail reliability should gradually improve as more railcars are repaired and returned to service, riders report continued service disruptions.

SEPTA will use the MARC cars to provide service where needed across its Regional Rail network. The cars will travel from Brunswick, Md., to Union Station in Washington, D.C., before arriving at Amtrak’s William H. Gray III 30th Street Station for SEPTA’s use.

SEPTA is also coordinating with other transit agencies across North America about the possibility of similar arrangements, should they become necessary.