Overview

• Federal regulators gave SEPTA until Oct. 30 to complete enhanced, component‑level inspections of all 225 Silverliner IV cars after five fires this year.
• SEPTA says more than half of the fleet is out of service during the checks, producing shorter trains, overcrowding, delays and cancellations across Regional Rail.
• Inspectors are tightening and testing every electrical connection and breaker, yet officials say no single issue has been found that links all five fires.
• SEPTA reports roughly 10–12 cars have passed inspection so far and aims to ramp output from about six to as many as 12 cars per day using five‑person crews per car.
• The NTSB urged sidelining the entire model, the FRA stopped short of that step, and SEPTA estimates full replacement would cost about $2 billion and take years, so it is also exploring surplus cars from other agencies.