Philly City Council holds public hearing on SEPTA's Silverliner IV trains
Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for SEPTA to suspend more than half of its Regional Rail fleet after expressing safety concerns with the mass transit provider’s fleet of 225 Silverliner IV railcars.
And, on Thursday, Philadelphia City Council’s Transportation and Public Utilities Committee hosted a public hearing to discuss the ongoing delays that the suspension of these trains has caused, the status of an investigation into safety concerns and just what SEPTA’s timeline may be to address these issues.
In opening the meeting, City Councilmember Mike Driscoll (D-6th dist.) noted that the government gave SEPTA an “aggressive timeframe” of Oct. 31, 2025, to get the trains inspected.
“Do you think you can get there by that aggressive timeframe?” Driscoll asked SEPTA General Manager, Scott Sauer.
For his part, Sauer admitted to council that SEPTA may miss that deadline.
“We are fully committed to making every effort, working around the clock to meet that deadline,” he said. “We realize that there is potential, should some condition emerge, that we may not.”
SEPTA officials have told NBC10’s Yukare Nakayama that, so far, the mass transit provider has inspected 50 Silverliner IV trains out of the 225 in its fleet and inspectors are able to review about eight trains a day.
Sauer also said SEPTA is working to improve how the mass transit provider communicates cancelations, delays and other issues that could impact commuters during this inspection process.
When might things return to “normal” operation, as they were for the Regional Rail lines before the inspections began?
Sauer told reporters on Thursday that he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t have a timeline for normal,” Sauer said. “We have to get through this. We have to make sure what we put out there is ready to go and safe for service.”
Also, the Silverliner IV fleet is over 45 years old. The trains began entering service between 1974 and 1976, initially operated by the Reading Company before it was absorbed into Conrail in 1976.
SEPTA then took over commuter rail operations and the Silverliner IV fleet from Conrail in 1983.
Sauer noted that, with the age of these trains, SEPTA realizes that the Silverliner IV trains will need to be treated with care after they return to service.
“We have to make sure we use caution with this fleet for the rest of their useful lives with us,” he said.
Why are Silverliner IV trains being inspected?
Earlier this month, the NTSB called for SEPTA to suspend its fleet of Silverliner IV trains after five of the trains caught fire in separate incidents this year.
The first incident of a fire this year occurred on Feb. 6, 2025, when a SEPTA train caught fire as it departed the Crum Lynne Station in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. The train consisted of six Silverliner IV railcars.
A second incident occurred on June 3, 2025, in Levittown, when a train of Silverliner IV railcars caught fire as the train stopped at the Levittown Station.
In a third incident investigated by the NTSB, a Silverliner IV train caught fire at Paoli Station in Paoli on July, 22, 2025. On Sept. 23, 2025, the NTSB noted, a Silverliner IV train caught fire at Fort Washington Station in Fort Washington.
And, most recently, on Sept. 25, a Silverline IV train caught fire at the Gravers Station in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.
In its report, the NTSB required SEPTA to suspend the operation of the entire Silverliner IV fleet until they determine the exact causes of the fires, develop and implement a plan to address those causes, and correct the “organizational factors that have prevented effective risk mitigations.”
Thursday’s hearing is expected to be well attended as riders have been dealing with cancellations, delays and crowded conditions on Regional Rail lines while SEPTA inspects its fleet of Silverliner IV trains.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
