PHILADELPHIA — Advance cancellation of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Regional Rail trains has continued into this week, although the scope of those cancellations has been reduced.
SEPTA announced Sunday that a dozen trains would be canceled today (Monday, Nov. 17) on its Chestnut Hill West and Fox Chase lines — three during the morning commute (Nos. 802, 809, and 814) and the rest throughout the day (No. 821, 826, 833, 838, 845, 850, 857, 862, and 6844). Plans beyond today have yet to be announced.
SEPTA announced advance cancellation of 22 trains a day last week because of equipment shortages resulting from the ongoing inspections of its 233-car Silverliner IV electric multiple-unit fleet. The agency completed inspection of those cars on Friday, meeting a Federal Railroad Administration deadline, but about half of the cars require repairs before they can be returned to service [see “SEPTA meets deadline …,” Trains.com, Nov. 14, 2025]. SEPTA anticipates it will be able to return about five cars to service each day, a process that will continue into mid-December.
Workers authorize strike
Also on Sunday, members of the Transit Workers Union Local 234 voted to authorize a strike, raising the possibility of further disruptions for SEPTA passengers.
The union represents about 5,000 bus, trolley, and subway operators, and mechanics. Its contract expired Nov. 7.
“If SEPTA doesn’t put money on the table, we’re going to shut Philly down,” said John Samuelsen, the union’s international president, according to a KYW-TV report. “We’re going to shut it down. That’s what’s going to happen.”
SEPTA said in a statement that it remained committed to “good-faith negotiations” to reach a contract that is fair to employees and to passengers and taxpayers.
— Updated at 7:55 a.m. CT with information on strike vote. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
