Philadelphia City Council's Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities on Tuesday pressed SEPTA officials about a Federal Railroad Administration emergency order affecting the agency's 225 Silverliner 4 regional railcars, while advocates and council members urged sustained funding rather than short-term fixes.

Councilmember Driscoll convened the hearing on Resolution 250880, which authorizes the committee to investigate the Silverliner 4 fleet. "The purpose of this hearing today is to get some of those answers if they're available," Driscoll said as he opened the session.

Scott Sauer, SEPTA's general manager, told the committee the agency is treating safety as the top priority. "Nothing is more critical than safety when it comes to our riders and our employees," Sauer said. He described a package of steps SEPTA and federal investigators devised after a February 2025 car fire, including what he called a "comprehensive set of 40 mitigation measures," more than 15 required tasks in FRA Emergency Order No. 34, installation of thermal detectors, new inspector protocols and daily inspection regimens.

Sauer said SEPTA has completed enhanced inspections on 52 Silverliner 4 cars so far and is "being deliberate and methodical" as it works to inspect the full 225-car fleet on an aggressive schedule set by the FRA. He identified three technically difficult tasks: the point-to-point inspections of all cars, installation of thermal detection wiring fleetwide, and digitizing maintenance manuals from the 1970s.

The inspection work and other safety steps have already affected service. "SEPTA has been advising customers of possible regional rail trip delays, cancellations, and overcrowded conditions," Sauer said, and he said SEPTA is exploring leasing or borrowing railcars from other agencies to reduce disruption.

Sauer also laid out the agency's fiscal position. He told council that with the Pennsylvania budget unresolved, SEPTA sought one-time permission to use state capital assistance to close a roughly $213,000,000 annual operating shortfall and is proposing an amendment to its FY2026 capital and operating budgets to transfer $394,000,000 in capital funds to operating. To enable the transfer, he said SEPTA would defer five capital projects including the planned purchase of more than 250 hybrid buses and that 44 projects had already been deferred — measures he said contribute to a state-of-good-repair backlog now exceeding $10,000,000,000.

Michael Carroll, the mayor's appointee on the SEPTA board, said the board is pushing for a stronger safety culture and acknowledged the need for a long-term, sustainable funding solution. "Solving the long term issues means we must ultimately all work together to provide SEPTA the resources it needs to modernize and sustain the essential services it provides," Carroll said.

Council members repeatedly pressed SEPTA about whether it can meet the FRA's deadline (Sauer said the agency is "fully committed" and working around the clock but acknowledged there is a process to seek relief if full compliance is not met). Sauer said the agency's early daily inspection goal was about 12 cars per day but work was averaging eight to ten and that SEPTA would be "right up against the deadline." He said SEPTA is coordinating closely with the FRA about possible relief measures if full compliance is not achieved in time.

Public witnesses and advocacy groups urged both local and state action. Nicole Bernay of Transit Forward Philadelphia said the current disruption is "a direct result of decades of disinvestment in our transit system on a local, state, and federal level," and urged the city to preserve and expand the city's 0-fare program and press Harrisburg for long-term funding. Connor Deschmaker of Transit for All PA and speakers from Fifth Square Advocacy and the Save the Train campaign made similar points: they called for a durable statewide funding package, noted the expiration of Act 89 and American Rescue Plan support, and urged municipal steps such as bonds, employer transit benefits, and other local revenue tools.

Riders who testified described service uncertainty and practical impacts. Susan Kinniry described a canceled Paoli/Thorndale return train that left riders facing a two-hour wait for the next hourly service. Other witnesses called for improved on-the-ground communications when trains are canceled and for guidance about capacity and crowding: Sauer said conductors are trained to identify full trains and to radio control so decisions can be made about bypassing stops or routing reserve trains into crowded zones.

Council members discussed potential local responses, including city bonding to buy cars or targeted capital assistance for projects that could be undertaken by the city rather than SEPTA, and asked SEPTA for timelines and cost estimates to support legislative outreach in Harrisburg. Sauer said full railcar procurement is costly and slow — railcar procurements can take five to ten years — and that SEPTA plans to issue a request for proposals for Silverliner 6 cars but that any replacement fleet would be debt-financed absent new capital commitments.

The committee recorded Resolution 250880 for the record and heard testimony; there was no formal committee vote recorded in the hearing transcript. The hearing concluded with councilmembers urging continued hearings, improved rider communications, and pressure on state lawmakers to approve a long-term funding mechanism.

Why it matters: The FRA order and the agency's decision to flex capital funds into operations expose a tension between immediate service continuity and long-term asset replacement. Council members, advocates and riders framed the problem as both a short-term safety and operations emergency and a symptom of decades of capital underinvestment that will require coordinated local, state and federal responses.

SEPTA and the committee agreed to continue engagement. Sauer said SEPTA would keep the committee informed of compliance progress and alternatives being pursued; advocates promised continued pressure on Harrisburg for a durable funding solution.