Septa regional rail in the philadelphia area just started running these.
I saw one running in delaware this week by wilmington.
First new passenger trains in quite some time. Very sleek.
I think Septa is asking for trouble and lawsuits with the new railfan windows. There is no separate cab for the operator. The passengers are not separated from the operator similar to a bus.
Now this is a commuter train that in some cases does a hundred miles an hour
.
Quite often there are near misses at railroad crossings of both vehicles and idiots on foot or bike. Also sometimes people or vehicles are struck from carelessness to suicide.
It must be very stressful to the operator when these near misses happen and some passengers will probably not handle it well.
From what I’ve read when a train strikes and kills a person the operator will often take time off due to the mental guilt and stress experienced. What will happen is passengers will very likely sue the railway for mental anguish when they experience this. Nothing like seeing someone become a hood ornament to a train, real time.
Here’s a video of what the passengers see. This was the first revenue run and the train was basically creeping along.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKCM8pc2Gs
Part 2
Interesting testign them on the SLOWEST route there is. But I suppose if they can handle that junky track they can run anywhere.
Nice that the old signals, both Reading and PRR, are in place on those lines still.
–Randy
Lots of room, 4 seats across, who makes them and where will they run? Maybe there are some old steam cowcatchers around that should be fitted. Don’t like the concept of driver available to the fringe members of our society, big mistake.
They’re manufactured by Hyundai in Korea and final assembly in the States.
There are several articles on them through google.
There is only 1 train running right now since they just started.
They’re currently running on all of the lines. There is a schedule on the Septa website that notes where they will be running and when. My wife was on one the other day.
http://www.septa.org/service/rail/silverliner.html
There will eventually be 120 cars total. What’s holding up the next batch is production in philly.
It’s embarassing that in this day and age quality workers are so hard to come by. They’re damaging the wiring and parts during assembly. And since the trains are made outside the US, replacement parts take time.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20101204_Another_delay_for_SEPTA_s_new_Silverliner_V_cars.html
double post
The SLV order is a disaster.
The 3 pilot cars have been in service for over a month now and are still breaking down at least twice a week, if not more.
The first 3 production cars are now late (again).
Pilot car 702 is STILL failing climate testing in Canada.
With the late fees, it will probably reach a point where they will surpass the price of the cars. SEPTA will be getting paid and making money for “buying” these cars.