September 28, 2016
UPDATE, 2 p.m. Thursday: SEPTA now says normal schedules will return Monday – for the most part.
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Despite SEPTA's aim to resume normal Regional Rail schedules by Oct. 3, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.
A spokesperson on the transportation agency's customer service Twitter account told many users that next's week's schedule will remain a revised weekday schedule. This is despite riders on the Media/Elwyn and Lansdale/Doylestown lines – and possibly others – reporting they were told that schedules will resume on the Oct. 3 date.
@Leenbean529 It will not be Normal Schedule but a Revised Weekday schedule. ^EN
— SEPTA_SOCIAL (@SEPTA_SOCIAL) September 28, 2016
@SEPTA_SOCIAL well you better let the conductors know that...they're saying it will be normal. But thank you!
— Alena (@Leenbean529) September 28, 2016
@dollie4U Stay tuned. Should be posted later this week ^KW
— SEPTA_SOCIAL (@SEPTA_SOCIAL) September 28, 2016
A SEPTA spokesperson could not immediately confirm if schedules would be revised or normal next week.
The scheduling miscommunication comes after months of service delays and modified schedules caused by structural damages that sidelined SEPTA's entire Silverliner V fleet – which accounts for a third of its trains.
In July, officials discovered cracks on the cars' welds that held its equalizer bars together. To remedy the headache, SEPTA has borrowed cars, added supplemental bus services and changed schedules.
On Sept. 12, they were forced to sideline 18 cars that already had been repaired by Hyundai Rotem, the train's manufacturer. During that time, the transit authority said they aimed for schedules to normalize by Oct. 3 though delays could push the date back to Oct. 10.
