ZS - This MFSE car topic at minimum should be combined and/or in tandem with:
"M5 Technical Specifications" which can be found below on this SEPTA Forum page
m5-technical-specifications-t174242.html
(9 posts - May 10, 2022 to January 3, 2023)
(Caution - The Trains Magazine News link is subject to a memberwall)
The first question is how SEPTA plans on coming up with the added $483 Million to allow the order for
200 new Market-Frankford Line M5 cars at $800 Million to be placed - which is $4 million dollars per car...
$317 Million Dollars of grant money will pay for about 79 cars at this price...
The second is the timeframe after a contract is negotiated and awarded to a carbuilder:
It may take at least three to five years to get prototype cars built, delivered and tested along with the
deployment of the entire new M5 MFSE fleet - 2028 to 2030 could be a good guesstimate on when this
new fleet is fully delivered to replace the (what will be) 30 year old M4 cars...
The M4 cars have never lived up to their full lifetime expectations and look to be retired a full decade
sooner than the M3 1960 Budd cars were (1998-1999) depending on when the M5 replacement cars
are built and (most importantly) will be available for service...MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS
