Federal Transport Safety Officers told PhiladelphiaThis week’s mass transit agency should shelter an aging electric railkar model, which is used heavy in its regional rail fleet until it is not known how to prevent them from catching fire.
Recommendation from National transport security board This year, five fire investigated this year, including the South -East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or Silverline IV passenger railwaycar used by CEPTA.
In addition to suspending the operation of the silverline IV fleet, the agency said that the septa said that the septa should rapidly track the replacement of the Silverline IV fleet or retrophit cars to meet the modern fire safety standards and add the system to give detailed information to the train crew when dinemic brakes or other electrical systems are not working normally.
All five fire forced everyone to evacuate – in one case, as 350 passengers – with some minor injuries. NTSB said one railwayman was involved in two fire, and two other railwaymen were destroyed.
Septa is one of the largest mass transit agencies in the country, carrying 800,000 daily riders on buses, trolleys and rails.
This recommendation comes at a time when septta and major transit agencies around the US are fighting for more public funding as they struggle with rising costs and rider riderships.
In its report, NTSB was important for the maintenance and operational practices of SEPTA.
The NTSB stated that the silverlineer IV combined with the old design of the IV railwaycar, “represents an immediate and unacceptable security risk due to the incidence and severity of the power fire that can spread to the occupied coaches,” NTSB said.
NTSB discovered fire in various components, including the propulsion system of the train, dynamic brakes, and electrical components attached to a traction motor.
Septa did not immediately answer questions whether it could follow the recommendations.
In its budget report released earlier this year, SEPTA reported that ballooning materials, manufacturing and construction costs have made it more expensive to replace the silverline IV fleet.
Nevertheless, it has been said that replacement is “longer investment” and “can no longer be delayed.”
It placed the price tag for about 1 billion dollars to replace its 230 silverline IV cars. general Electric in the 1970s.
However, Septa also estimated that the design, purchase and construction timeline for replacement would spread by 2036.
,
Follow Mark Levi on X: https://x.com/timelywriter