SEPTA Silverliner IV inspections under FRA fire-safety order

SEPTA Silverliner IV inspections mandated after a series of thermal incidents have now been completed across the entire fleet, ahead of the Nov. 14 deadline set by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) said, according to Progressive Railroading. These emergency inspections of the Silverliner IV fleet were carried out car by car to address safety concerns and gradually return equipment to service in a controlled, predictable way.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

FRA safety order behind SEPTA Silverliner IV inspections

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety order was issued on Oct. 1 after five instances of fire or other thermal-related emergencies on Silverliner IV rail cars earlier this year. Under that order, SEPTA was required to carry out 14 safety-related steps aimed at reducing the risk of additional fire and thermal-related emergencies, including suspending the entire 223-car Silverliner IV fleet until each vehicle passed inspection. In parallel, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that SEPTA take the same step and keep the fleet off the rails while the situation was being addressed.

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According to a SEPTA press release, the authority met almost all of the required actions by the FRA’s original Oct. 31 deadline. It then received an extension to Nov. 14 to wrap up the enhanced inspections and install new high-heat detectors on the Silverliner IV cars. With those emergency inspections completed and the detectors in place, SEPTA says the core requirements of the federal safety order have now been met, clearing the way for more cars to re-enter service.

Thermal protection circuits and service support measures

With the inspections finished and the high-heat detectors already installed, SEPTA still faces a Dec. 5 deadline to add thermal protection circuits to the Silverliner IV fleet. These thermal protection circuits are described as an additional safeguard that can interrupt the flow of electricity to devices that begin to overheat, further reducing the likelihood of fire or other thermal-related emergencies on the rail cars and reinforcing the earlier round of SEPTA Silverliner IV inspections.

To soften the impact of having a large portion of the fleet out of service for repairs and inspections, SEPTA signed a Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail lease to bring in 10 rail coach cars, a step also highlighted by Railway Supply. These leased coaches are intended to help backfill capacity while more Silverliner IV cars return to operation. SEPTA officials expect SEPTA Regional Rail service reliability to improve gradually through the end of the year as the inspected fleet comes back into service and the temporary equipment remains in the schedule.

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