SEPTA gets $13.3 million from D.C. for new Silverliner Regional Rail train cars
Last fall, the agency was forced to pull all 223 train cars from service for inspections and maintenance following a spate of fires.
SEPTA is getting a $13.3 million federal grant to help the transit agency finance next-generation replacements for 223 Silverliner IV train cars that were pulled from service last year for safety inspections and repairs after several caught fire.
Silverliner IVs, the workhorse of SEPTA’s electric-powered Regional Rail fleet, were built between 1974 and 1976 — 10 presidents ago.
They were overdue for replacement, a process now underway.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Philadelphia Democrat, announced the award of the grant on Monday. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is expected to speak about the grant at SEPTA’s Overbrook Maintenance Facility on Wednesday afternoon.
“The Silverliner IV cars have served our region for half a century, and this federal investment will help SEPTA move forward … with modern and accessible trains,” Boyle said in a statement.
The $13.3 million comes from the Rail Vehicle Replacement Grant Program, which was funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.
SEPTA officials are reviewing bids from companies interested in building the new model, to be called the Silverliner VI, at an estimated cost of $2 billion.
The order will be for 234 new cars, which have motors and also carry passengers, spokesperson Andrew Busch said. A contract to build them could be awarded sometime this fall, he said.
The rest of the money has to be lined up. SEPTA officials say they intend to apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation loan program for part of the cost.
Transit agency rail cars are bespoke, built to each customer’s specifications. SEPTA has said it could take about seven years before the first cars begin arriving in Philadelphia.
SEPTA is renting 10 passenger coaches from Maryland’s commuter rail agency to bolster available trains. It also is buying 24 surplus Bombardier coaches from Montreal’s public-transit system, though they have not yet arrived.
Five Silverliner IV cars caught fire in 2025, starting with the first car of a Wilmington-bound train on Feb. 6 as it pulled out of Crum Lynne Station in Delaware County.
Passengers were evacuated in all five incidents, with minor injuries reported. No cause for the fires has yet been identified.
In October 2025, the Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates commuter rail systems, ordered SEPTA to perform additional emergency mechanical inspections on each of the Silverliner IVs.
The cars were built by General Electric.
Pulling the 50-year-old workhorses offline forced SEPTA to cancel thousands of Regional Rail trips, shorten train lengths, and sometimes bypass stations due to passenger overcrowding.
The chaos lasted for months.
