SEPTA Taps Hitachi Rail for M5 Fleet Contract
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to supply 200 new M5 rapid transit cars for the Market-Frankford Line in Philadelphia, Pa.
The base value of the contract, which includes an option for up to 40 more cars, is $724.3 million. Deliveries are due to begin in 2029 for completion by the end of 2031.
Hitachi says that the new trains will offer improved accessibility, capacity and reliability when they replace the current fleet of M4 trains that have been in service for nearly 25 years on SEPTA’s busiest line.
“Replacing this fleet is the top priority in our capital improvement plan,” SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie Richards says.
The new fleet will have designated spaces for wheelchairs, strollers and bicycles, wide gangways between the cars to ease passenger flow and improve security, and digital real-time wayfinding displays. Regenerative braking will reduce energy consumption.
The new fleet is being partially funded by a $317 million grant awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in February under the second round of its Rail Vehicle Replacement Program. This is the largest competitive federal grant ever won by SEPTA.
“The Market-Frankford Line is SEPTA’s workhorse,” SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth Lawrence says.
“This is a critically needed upgrade to our fleet, and the Septa board will work closely with staff to ensure that this procurement proceeds on schedule and on budget.”
“The fleet will be delivered from our new state-of-the-art railcar factory in Hagerstown, Md., confirming Hitachi Rail’s commitment as a local player in the U.S. market and creating new economic opportunities in Philadelphia and across the northeast,” says Luca D’Aquila, Chief Operating Officer and head of vehicles at Hitachi Rail.
In related developments, SEPTA in April terminated a $185 million contract with Chinese SOE (state-owned enterprise) CRRC (China Railway Rolling Stock Corp.) for 45 bilevel railcars for the agency’s Regional Rail lines, citing four years of delays, poor workmanship and quality controls and zero deliveries. SEPTA so far had paid $50 million to CRRC. Additionally, the agency earlier this month said it will implement “additional initiatives and a series of corrective action plans (CAPs)” in response to the FTA Safety Management Inspection (SMI) Final Report issued the same day. The CAPs, SEPTA said, “will help further the series of proactive efforts initiated late last summer aimed at enhancing safety and security; increasing staffing and training; and shoring up operational practices and procedures.”
Railway Age Executive Editor Marybeth Luczak contributed to this report.
