PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Finally, some relief for Regional Rail riders: SEPTA said it won't pre-cancel trains for Wednesday.
SEPTA had canceled 12 more trains for Tuesday on the Fox Chase and Chestnut Hill West lines because of ongoing car shortages. That's after having canceled 22 trains last week, amid federally mandated inspections and repairs of SEPTA's Silverliner IV Regional Rail cars.
The agency said it would rent 10 additional cars from Maryland's MARC transit system.
While no trains were canceled Wednesday due to the car shortage, some were canceled or delayed due to unrelated mechanical issues.
Meanwhile, SEPTA will resume contract talks Thursday with the union representing city transit operators. Members of Transport Workers Union Local 234 voted on Sunday to authorize a strike, but TWU President Will Vera said he wasn’t close to calling for one yet.
The contract for 5,000 bus, subway and trolley operators expired on Nov. 7. Workers have remained on the job as talks continue. Salaries and the process to collect sick pay are two of the major sticking points.
The last strike was in 2016 and lasted six days.