Officials unveil $317M for railcars on SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line

SEPTA has long been underfunded but, that may be improving.

Not long ago, the mass transit provider sounded the alert that it faced a "death spiral," after years of underfunding has SEPTA set to spend it's last share of federal COVID funding by April.

Without new funding, SEPTA officials warned riders could be looking at potential fare increases of up to 30% and the possibility of cuts to 20% of services across all modes of transportation.

However, that could turn around.

The governor has proposed to add more than $280 million in his budget to support mass transit across the state.

And, new investment of $317 million in funding, announced on Wednesday, will be used to replace aging railcars on SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line.

"It really is a historic day at SEPTA," said Administrator Nuria Fernandez, of the Federal Transit Administration, at an event to announce this funding in at the 69th Street Station in Upper Darby.

The funding is one of three grants -- with a total of more than $630 million -- from the Federal Transit Administration Rail Vehicle Replacement Grant Program.

She said transit systems in Baltimore and Chicago will also receive a share of the total funding.

Fernandez said that the new trains will provide more reliable --and more comfortable -- transportation to riders along the Market-Frankford Line in the future.

"I rode the line to the event this morning, and it's quick and efficient and so creating those rail vehicles will make it better, much better," she said.

She noted that the railcars on that line have been there since the late 1990s, and railcars typically have a useful life of about 25 years.

"It has become challenging to keep those railcars in service," she said.

With this new funding, she said, SEPTA will be able to purchase about 200 new railcars for the Market-Frankford Line.

In taking a moment to discuss what the funding might mean for Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker said that the funding is an example to President Joe Biden making sure tax dollars are spent wisely.

"This is a super big deal for our region and particularly for the people who have been yearning to see their tax dollars at work in their neighborhoods," she said.

She also said that the move would be a step towards making SEPTA's system "safe and clean" for riders across the region.

Parker said that she looks forward to helping SEPTA grow and become a first class mass transit system, because the Philadelphia region "doesn't deserve anything less."

In a statement ahead of the day's event, State Rep. Ed Neilson (D-174th dist.), chair of the House Transportation Committee, said he is excited about the move to replace its aging Market-Frankford Line fleet.

“The Market-Frankford Line is a vital route that makes almost 15 million trips per year,” Neilson said. “The trains haven’t been upgraded in 25 years which leads to delays for passengers who rely on this route and even cancellations.”

Neilson's office said that the Market-Frankford Line needs approximately 96 cars to maintain levels of ridership, according to SEPTA.

But, they are currently operating with 85, Neilson's office said.

“This investment is a big deal and is long overdue,” he said in a statement.