PHILADELPHIA — Ten railcars leased from Maryland are now operating in Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Regional Rail service.
Public broadcaster WHYY reports that at least initially, the cars will be used on the Trenton and Trenton West lines during the midday hours.
SEPTA leased the cars from the Maryland Area Commuter Rail operation as part of efforts to address equipment shortages stemming from the sidelining of its fleet of Silverliner IV cars last October. The Federal Railroad Administration ordered the cars sidelined for repairs following a series of fires; most have now been returned to service [see “SEPTA making progress …,” Trains.com, Jan. 8, 2026]. But the leased cars will provide more capacity and flexibility.
The cars arrived in December, spokesman Andrew Busch told WHYY. They are just now entering service because crews and mechanical staff needed training on the new equipment.
“It’s kind of an anomaly on the system,” Busch said, “but we’re thrilled to have them out there to be able to add some more service for our customers. And we are continuing to look for options to add more railcars.”
The cars were leased for about $2.6 million, WCAU-TV reports.
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