Gov. Shapiro directs additional capital funds to SEPTA to address urgent safety issues

Philadelphia’s transit system is getting an early holiday bonus to help complete urgent safety upgrades and ensure compliance with federal safety orders. 

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Monday his administration is directing $219.9 million in additional capital funding to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Public Transportation Authority to address fleet safety issues and restore full Regional Rail service. 

The move comes after SEPTA, Shapiro and federal officials have gone back and forth over a series of fires that took place on the agency’s fleet of Silverliner IV railcars. 

In a statement Monday, Shapiro said he’s directing the Department of Transportation to transfer funds set aside for emergencies in the Public Transit Trust Fund to support SEPTA in its safety and infrastructure upgrades, in accordance with the orders from federal railroad officials. 

“Nearly 800,000 Pennsylvanians rely on SEPTA every single day — to get to school, to work, to medical appointments, and wherever else they need to go safely and reliably,” Shapiro said in the statement, asserting Senate Republicans are to blame for the lack of long-term transit funding. “My Administration is stepping up once again to provide SEPTA with the funding it needs to complete critical repairs, meet federal safety requirements, and restore full service — but we need a long-term solution. I will keep fighting for additional recurring funding for mass transit in Harrisburg so that we can invest in mass transit systems, including SEPTA, all across the Commonwealth.”

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy and the National Transportation Safety Board issued a warning to SEPTA in October to take immediate action to address fire risks and its aging fleet of regional rail cars. Later that month, Duffy called out “gross mismanagement” at SEPTA and Shapiro’s leadership on the issue – a move in the midst of the state budget impasse that was followed up by a Shapiro statement claiming that Harrisburg Republicans continue to get in the way of proper transit funding.

At the time, Duffy pointed to the “numerous failures on SEPTA’s part that the state has failed to provide proper oversight for, including SEPTA’s ever-spiraling $213 million debt, which earned them a negative rating from Moody’s Ratings.”

The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration ordered SEPTA to inspect, repair and upgrade its Silver IV railcars, as well as its entire trolley network, following the fires earlier this year. 

SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer has said the agency completed all required inspections prior to the federal deadline and that full weekday Regional Rail service can be restored next month when additional railcars are expected to be operational again. 

“These funds are going to make a significant difference in our efforts to overcome this current crisis — and to prevent problems moving forward. With these new capital dollars, we can advance initiatives that will improve service across the system. This money will be directed to projects that can begin quickly and will enhance safety and reliability for our riders,” Sauer said in a statement. “Thanks to the dedication of our employees, who have been working around the clock, we’re already returning up to five railcars to service each day. We expect to be close to full strength by mid-December, and these new funds will help keep us on the right trajectory as we bolster our preventative maintenance and vehicle overhaul efforts.”

The roughly $220 million in redirected funds will now go toward upgrading electrical systems, overhead wires, escalators and replacement parts for rail cars.