PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA has finalized a deal to beef up its Regional Rail fleet with two dozen rail cars from Montreal.
The transit authority is spending $8.6 million to buy surplus coach cars from Montreal's Exo transit system.
"They had 24 of their rail cars up for sale,” said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch, “so SEPTA bid on those and it happened that those became available right around the time that we were working through our troubles on the Silverliner IV fleet."
Busch said the cars, manufactured by Bombardier, are 40 years old and well maintained. The 50-year-old Silverliner IV cars make up most of the Regional Rail fleet. After mandatory fire inspections last year created a car shortage, SEPTA leased 10 cars from Maryland.
The interior of Montreal's Exo trains feature longitudinal seating along one side of the car. SEPTA is purchasing two dozen cars from the Montreal transit system.Courtesy of SEPTA
As for the cars from Canada, Busch said they have longitudinal seating — meaning seating along an entire wall of each car, a first for the Regional Rail trains. Still, he added, one change must be made.
“All of the signage on board, the exit signs, the doors here, anything that you usually see on board a train,” Busch explained, “that's all in French.”
The cars are expected to arrive later this spring, according to Busch, and will likely go into service late this summer.
