COVID-19 Effects on SEPTA

[bikentransit]

2 observations:
1. It appears pilot trains are running on OOS lines. I stopped by Bala and Wissinoming stations this week, both tracks look in use.
2. This pandemic will have ramifications for months if not years to come for mass transit. Even with a phased in re-opening, many are going to try avoiding public transit for as long as possible. Still hard to tell how long that stigma will last. In any case, there won't be money for projects.

[MACTRAXX]

BNT: You mean Wissahickon (Manayunk-Norristown Line) which is not far from Bala.
Wissinoming was on the Trenton Line between Tacony and Bridesburg has been
closed more than 20 years ago during the 90s.

Good to know pilot trains are being run on the Cynwyd and Manayunk-Norristown Line.

One of the biggest problems that transit systems are going to have is that mass transit
is NOT designed for "social distancing" - those that have a choice are most likely going
to "distance" themselves in their own vehicles instead of riding a train or bus. The low
of gasoline is only adding to the problem taking note to current record low oil prices.

Everyone: With the SEPTA Regional Rail system operating on a "Lifeline Schedule" with
four routes in service: MLV-LNS; ELW-FXC; AIR-WAR and TRE-CCP every 2/3 hours
on average using a limited amount of equipment - where is the bulk of the RRD fleet
being stored?

On the closed routes the two largest yards are at West Trenton and Doylestown
(in that order).
If they are any cars being stored on closed routes the concern is to prevent any types of vandalism.
That would go for stations on routes with no service and no one keeping watch...

With what looks like to be a surplus of equipment at least for the near future
depending on ridership returns to the RRD system here's a question to think about:

Does SEPTA actually need the CRRC bilevel car fleet at this time?

It may now end up being years off into the future before the CRRC cars
become a necessity with adequate amounts of other cars available.

MACTRAXX


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[mcgrath618]

Everyone,

Since SEPTA is running such a barebones schedule, the Pennsylvania Northeastern has been running it's W230 train from Warminster to Lansdale in the daylight, usually reaching North Wales in between 3-4. Seeing this train in daylight (and under wire) is incredibly rare.

[GooStats]

Two observations from Woodbourne:
-Pilot trains are still running. I saw two this week.
- SEPTA parking lots at Woodbourne and Langhorne are now blocked off, so no more sitting there to railfan.

[glennk419]

Everyone,

Since SEPTA is running such a barebones schedule, the Pennsylvania Northeastern has been running it's W230 train from Warminster to Lansdale in the daylight, usually reaching North Wales in between 3-4. Seeing this train in daylight (and under wire) is incredibly rare.

They did a spaghetti run today. I'm three blocks from Roslyn station and definitely recognized the horns.

[rcthompson04]

What are they running as pilot trains? It still looks like SEPTA is running the Silverliner IVs for service. I would presume you want to keep all the rolling stock running occasionally so that the Silverliner Vs are probably doing pilot trains with an occasional ACS-64 doing the same.

[GooStats]

Both pilot trains that I saw on the West Trenton Line were Silverliner V's.

[CNJGeep]

What are they running as pilot trains? It still looks like SEPTA is running the Silverliner IVs for service. I would presume you want to keep all the rolling stock running occasionally so that the Silverliner Vs are probably doing pilot trains with an occasional ACS-64 doing the same.

No push pulls for the duration, unless they're moving them somewhere else

[NorthPennLimited]

Did the MARC cars go back to Maryland? They are kind of superfluous now that the push pull fleet isn’t needed for rush hour service.

[deere3020]

https://youtu.be/T-VacGZ19eI

At 11:45 appears to be a silver liner IV heading on the Doylestown branch towards Doylestown.

[CNJGeep]

https://youtu.be/T-VacGZ19eI

At 11:45 appears to be a silver liner IV heading on the Doylestown branch towards Doylestown.

Correct. Trains are still going to Doylestown to swap crews. In fact, that was my train in the clip you linked to.

[MACTRAXX]

D: Good PNER video about running freight south of Lansdale during daytime hours.

CNJ: Is the Doylestown Yard in regular use on the Lifeline Schedule?
Are all the Lansdale turns continuing on to Doylestown?
With 1 hour 15 minutes scheduled there seems to be enough time to
continue north to DYL and then return in time for the southbound run.
Are there crews cleaning RRD trains between runs at terminals?
MACTRAXX

[glennk419]

Great video. That would certainly explain the horns that I heard on the 22nd.

[CNJGeep]

CNJ: Is the Doylestown Yard in regular use on the Lifeline Schedule?
Are all the Lansdale turns continuing on to Doylestown?
With 1 hour 15 minutes scheduled there seems to be enough time to
continue north to DYL and then return in time for the southbound run.
Are there crews cleaning RRD trains between runs at terminals?
MACTRAXX

No, two starts and they are on the main.
Not every train goes through but most do since the crew sign up is still at Doylestown. If there's no crew to deliver in either direction, the spin is at Lansdale.
As for cleaning, not at Doylestown, at least when I was there Wednesday. I only worked up there one day. We hit someone at Ambler on the way back, so that put an end to my week at Doylestown. They do have people cleaning cab areas at Suburban when crews are relieved.

[rcthompson04]

A few posts back someone asked if the CRRC are needed in light of a long term ridership drop. I would say yes for a few reasons. First, if you are going to have good social distancing on trains when things start coming back, you are going to need a lot more equipment even at reduced levels. Second, SEPTA has the locomotives already. It would be better off taking the CRRC cars and replace some of the Silverliner IVs with them.