PHILADELPHIA — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative one-year deal with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, a rare bit of good news for the problem-plagued transit agency.
The union announced that the deal, covering engineers who operate Regional Rail trains, would include a 5% pay increase effective July 5, 2026. A ratification vote is now in progress, with ballots due by Dec. 11.
The BLET agreement comes shortly after members of the Transit Workers Union, representing 5,000 workers including subway and trolley operators, authorized a strike if it cannot reach agreement with SEPTA [see “SEPTA Regional Rail cancellations …,” Trains.com, Nov. 17, 2025]. SEPTA also continues to deal with Regional Rail service disruptions stemming from issues with its Silverliner IV electric multiple-unit railcars, although it has ended the daily pre-cancellation of trains because of a lack of equipment.
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It is only sort of good news. They have to do this all over again in just a year.