Approval of Option Will Increase Septa's Purchase of New Silverliner V Regional Rail Cars to 120

PHILADELPHIA, April 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At its regular monthly Board meeting today the SEPTA Board approved a staff proposal to add an additional 16 Silverliner V regional rail cars to its initial purchase of 104.

An option for the purchase of the additional cars was included in the original contract with United Transit Systems, LLC (a Consortium of Sojitz Corporation of America and Rotem Company) for the purchase of the railroad cars which was initially approved by the Board in March 2006.

SEPTA regional rail ridership on weekdays continues to exceed 110,000 daily passengers and is growing at 3.5% this year. To meet projected future ridership increases SEPTA concluded that the initial order of 104 Silverliner V cars would not be sufficient and would require the additional equipment. The additional 16 regional rail cars (six married pairs and four single cars) will be purchased at a contract price of $29,840,000.00, increasing the total contract price for the purchase of the 120 cars to $274,076,714.00.

In conjunction, the Delaware Transportation Corporation (DTC), which has an operating agreement with SEPTA for regional rail service to the state of Delaware on the SEPTA R2 regional rail branch, has committed to fund the purchase of four of the rail cars acquired through the option. Funding for these four rail cars will be provided by the Federal Transit Administration and matching Delaware State resources.

DTC will provide the funding as part of their Wilmington to Newark Commuter Rail Improvement Project. As R2 ridership has been consistently increasing over the past five years and is projected to continue to do so, an increase in service would be necessary to meet passenger demands. DTC will own the four rail cars but all operating service and maintenance will continue to be SEPTA's responsibility.

With the delivery of the new railroad cars SEPTA will retire 73 Silverliner II and III cars, which have operated since the 1960's. The addition of the new cars to the fleet will also address current overcrowding on the rail system.

Delivery of the initial three pilot cars is scheduled for December 2008.

The design of the Silverliner V cars incorporate recent technology, proven components and enhanced passenger amenities to ensure overall safety, security and passenger comfort. They will fully comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, as well as federal and state regulations regarding safety features and systems. New Federal Railroad Administration passenger car strength and safety requirements will be incorporated in the manufacture of the new cars.

Passenger amenities will include larger windows, wider aisles, a

state-of-the-art climate control system and enhanced seating arrangements with more two-passenger seating. Each car will be equipped to accommodate two wheelchairs. The combination of aisle width, placement of wider doors and interior seating arrangements will provide a more pleasant environment for passenger movement and seating. The new cars will have electronic exterior and interior destination signs and voice annunciation of train destination and upcoming station stops. The enhanced public address system will enable SEPTA's Control Center to broadcast messages directly to passengers on trains.

Cars will be equipped with a passenger emergency intercom system.

Source: SEPTA

CONTACT: Jim Whitaker of SEPTA Public Relations, +1-215-580-7842

Web site: http://www.septa.org/