PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Sunday’s winter storm brought more than 9 inches of snow to Philadelphia and even more to neighboring suburbs. SEPTA said Regional Rail will return to its normal weekday schedule, but even as service resumes this week, it will be slower than usual.
On Tuesday, Regional Rail operated on a Saturday schedule. Other services returned to weekday schedules, with some delays and cancellations due to the cold.
“The cold weather can really wreak havoc on our infrastructure,” especially on the Regional Rail, said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.
Those lines will be running about ten miles an hour slower due to the sub-freezing temperatures forecast all week. He said tracks can contract in these temps and are more prone to damage, so trains are reducing speeds as a precaution — which can add ten to 15 minutes to your trip.
“We do have warmers on the switches, so that helps. But when you get cold this extreme, the warmers often can’t completely keep up,” he said.
Pilot trains help to keep ice from building up on the overhead wires, Busch said, and crews are doing extra inspections of rail switches.
“That’ll be ongoing through the week and probably even a little bit beyond, as it seems like we’re going to be in this deep freeze for a while,” he said.
As for other services: On the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines, SEPTA has the option to store cars in the subway tunnel to keep them warmer than they’d be in a rail yard. As for restoring bus routes, Busch said SEPTA is largely at the mercy of local road conditions.