NTSB Recommends Sidelining SEPTA Silverliner IVs (UPDATED 11/3)

Designed and built by General Electric, the Silverliner IV is the fourth-generation EMU (electric multiple unit) in the Silverliner family and was delivered in batches between 1973 and 1976. The Silverliner IVs were operated by the Reading Company until Reading’s absorption into Conrail in 1976. SEPTA took over commuter rail operations and the Silverliner IV fleet from Conrail in 1983. As of 2025, Silverliner IVs represent approximately 225 of the 390 passenger-carrying railcars (which include passenger coaches, cab cars, and self-propelled units) in SEPTA’s Regional Rail operations fleet, according to the NTSB. “The Silverliner IV fleet has not been refurbished since its original deployment,” reported the government agency, which noted that the Silverliner IV design predates federal fire safety standards established in 1999 and most recently amended in 2002. Under Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 238.103, new railcars and refurbishments must meet the performance standards, design standards, and testing procedures described in Appendix B of the same part, it said.

“The NTSB concluded that the outdated design of the Silverliner IV railcars, in combination with SEPTA’s maintenance and operating practices, represents an immediate and unacceptable safety risk because of the incidence and severity of electrical fires that can spread to occupied compartments,” said the government agency on Oct. 1, the day it issued Railroad Investigation Report: RIR-25-12 (download below). “Additionally, the NTSB found that the risks posed by the design cannot be fully addressed without an extensive fleet retrofit or replacement.” According to the NTSB, it also found that “SEPTA’s current operating practices have failed to protect passengers and crews because defective railcars have been kept in passenger service.”

The NTSB said that it issues “urgent recommendations to address immediate, critical issues that threaten lives or property,” noting that it “does not need to wait until the end of investigations to issue recommendations”; recipients have 30 days to respond.

The recommendations for SEPTA stem from the NTSB’s investigation of five fires involving Silverliner IVs in 2025:

• Feb. 6, in Ridley Park, Pa.: The NTSB is continuing its investigation of the fire that started on the lead car of a six-Silverliner IV car train as the train departed Crum Lynne Station. It reported, however, that “preliminary findings indicate that the fire started in the railcar’s undercarriage when electrical components associated with the train’s propulsion system overheated and ignited.” Everyone aboard—four crew and about 325 riders—was evacuated. Four passengers later reported minor injuries, according to the NTSB.

• June 3, Levittown, N.J.: The rearmost car of a five-Silverliner IV car-train caught fire as the train stopped at Levittown Station. “The fire was mostly confined to the roof area of the railcar and a rooftop ventilation duct,” the NTSB reported. “As part of the investigation into the earlier Ridley Park fire, the NTSB examined the damaged railcar from Levittown and found signs of overheating on the dynamic brake resistor banks, which normally convert mechanical energy into heat when the dynamic brakes are applied. Preliminary findings indicate that a cam controller pilot motor (part of the system that controls the railcar’s dynamic brakes) failed and that the dynamic braking pressure switch (which engages or cuts out the dynamic brakes during air brake applications) was out of calibration. Together, these two issues allowed this railcar’s braking system to become stuck in dynamic braking mode as the train remained in motion and under power, causing the resistor grid to overheat and ignite a fiberglass rooftop ventilation duct.” According to the NTSB, the crew evacuated the train’s 150 riders, and no injuries were reported.

• July 22, Paoli, Pa.: The fifth car of six Silverliner IV-car train caught fire as the train stopped at Paoli Station. “The railcar that caught fire was destroyed,” the NTSB reported. “The NTSB examined the involved railcar … again as part of the ongoing investigation of the Ridley Park fire. Preliminary findings indicate that the fire began in the undercarriage with electrical components in the train’s propulsion system and spread to the passenger compartment, similar to the February 6 fire in Ridley Park.” According to the government agency, the crew evacuated the train’s 14 riders; the conductor was transported to a local hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and no other injuries were reported.

• Sept. 23, Fort Washington, Pa.: The crew observed smoke coming from the fifth car of a six Silverliner IV-car train while the train was approaching Fort Washington Station. “This incident involved the same railcar that caught fire in Levittown,” the NTSB reported. “The NTSB examined the involved railcar … and preliminary findings indicate that the fire began with electrical components near the dynamic brake resistor banks on the railcar’s roof. The electrical components had been replaced during repairs and maintenance after the Levittown fire; preliminary findings indicate that the fire was associated with these repairs rather than the defects that led to the Levittown fire. As in the Levittown fire, the fire did not spread to occupied compartments.” Four crew members and about 350 riders were on board; all were evacuated at the station and no injuries were reported, according to the NTSB.

• Sept. 25, Philadelphia, Pa.: The crew noticed that the second car of a five-Silverliner IV car train was on fire while stopped at Gravers Station, according to the NTSB. “Based on the NTSB’s interviews with crew members and maintenance personnel, the train had been operating since the previous day with an illuminated fault light,” the government agency said. “Multiple crews operated the train during this period. The NTSB examined the involved railcar … Preliminary findings indicate that the fire started on a traction motor in the train’s undercarriage and that a crew member put out the fire with a handheld extinguisher.” Four crew members and about 25 riders were on board; all were evacuated at the station and no injuries were reported, according to the NTSB.

Investigations are ongoing, but preliminary findings from the Ridley Park and Paoli fires, the NTSB reported, “indicate that fires spread from exterior electrical compartments to interior occupied compartments, a type of failure current design standards are intended to limit or prevent.”

According to the NTSB, its investigators reported that “the recurrence of fires—despite SEPTA’s attempted fixes—shows organizational lapses that block effective risk mitigation.” The NTSB said that “SEPTA’s proposed changes to its operations, maintenance and engineering activities require ongoing monitoring to ensure they protect passengers and crews.”

NTSB in its report recommendations called on SEPTA to:

• “Suspend operation of the Silverliner IV fleet until you have determined the root causes of fires, developed and implemented a plan to address these causes, and identified and corrected the organizational factors that have prevented effective risk mitigations. (R-25-12) (Urgent)

• “Create an expedited procurement or retrofit schedule and seek funding from appropriate sources as soon as possible to accelerate the replacement of the Silverliner IV fleet or its retrofit to include modern feedback systems and meet Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 238 fire safety standards for new railcars. (R-25-13) (Urgent)

• “Pending replacement or retrofit of the Silverliner IV fleet, implement a plan to monitor the success of your risk-mitigation approach to the Silverliner IV fleet, including provisions for immediately removing the fleet from service again if your mitigations fail to prevent fires. (R-25-14) (Urgent)”

According to NBC10 Philadelphia, “SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said he was surprised by the NTSB report and disagreed with it. Sauer said SEPTA has already implemented about 40 mitigation measures since the first train fire … Sauer also said that despite the recommendations, the Silverliner IV railcars will remain on the tracks.”

The media outlet reported that “According to Sauer, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) wants the transit agency to follow its own mitigation practices. He also said the FRA agrees that SEPTA does not have to remove the Silverliner IV railcars from its fleet.”

“Throughout this process we have tightened up all those procedures which is why the incidents have been less frequent,” NBC10 Philadelphia quoted Sauer as saying. “So, we are responding to every single mitigation measure that we either come up with on our own or that the FRA tells us to do. The FRA being the regulator, they can order us to change. When they do, we respond.”

According to the media outlet, Sauer “also said that replacing the entire Silverliner IV fleet would require SEPTA to take out a loan, a process that could take up to six to 10 years.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released “a statement announcing the FRA issued an emergency order requiring that SEPTA take ‘immediate, sweeping action’ following the fires,” reported NBC10 Philadelphia. “According to Duffy, the FRA is ordering SEPTA to follow ‘several safety-related steps’ to prevent future fires.”

“At my direction, FRA is taking swift and immediate action to ensure the safety of all passengers and transit workers on SEPTA,” said Duffy, according to the media outlet. “This includes deploying our team of experts to SEPTA’s trains, repair shops, dispatch center, to ensure thorough safety precautions are being implemented. Recent fires and ongoing mechanical problems are unacceptable to such a critical rail line.”

SEPTA on Oct. 2 released the following bulletin to Regional Rail riders:

“Due to mechanical issues and federally mandated enhanced safety measures, many Regional Rail Silverliner IV trains are currently being taken out of service. Riders can expect delays and crowded conditions over the next week or so; please plan accordingly. We apologize for any inconvenience.

“On Wednesday, October 1, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released an investigative report and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued an Emergency Order in response to recent fires that have occurred on SEPTA Silverliner IV Regional Rail trains. Customer and employee safety is SEPTA’s most important value and priority. We take these findings and urgent safety directives and recommendations seriously for the safety of the region’s Regional Rail riders. 

“SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer held a press conference to update customers on our mitigation plan. A recording of the press conference is available on SEPTA’s YouTube page.  

“FRA Emergency Order No. 34 includes more than 15 required actions SEPTA must take. These actions include operator and mechanical personnel training, installation of new thermal detectors, daily inspection regimes and a comprehensive, point-to-point inspection of every Silverliner IV railcar following an aggressive FRA-approved schedule. SEPTA is committed to fully complying with the FRA Emergency Order, and we are confident that full compliance will achieve the goal of the NTSB recommendation without suspending the Silverliner IV fleet and severely limiting service. 

“Following a fire in February 2025, SEPTA worked with FRA and NTSB to develop a comprehensive set of 40 mitigation measures. SEPTA has made progress on a range of initiatives from additional notifications and safety checks to audible alarms for fault lights. Rail Operations has also adjusted vehicle usage to reduce hours of service on these aging cars. Due to these efforts, SEPTA is confident that by working hand-in-hand with FRA and NTSB, we can safely continue service with the Silverliner IV fleet.  

“In response to the FRA’s Emergency Order and NTSB report, SEPTA has added the following additional measures: 

“ • In-person inspectors on all trains going through Center City stations. Adding mid-run inspections of fault indicator lights, in addition to other checks and inspections already in place.
“ • Live video monitoring that allows SEPTA’s Control Center supervisors to look into all trains to check on these indictor lights. 

“About the Silverliner IV Fleet:

“The 22[3] Silverliner IV rail cars are SEPTA’s oldest rail cars—dating back to the mid-1970s—and are some of the oldest in operation in the country. They represent approximately two-thirds of SEPTA’s Regional Rail fleet. Due to funding constraints that have prevented their replacement, SEPTA has had to keep these rail cars in service long beyond their recommended useful life. Procuring new railcars is a lengthy and costly process, and SEPTA is developing a funding plan to support their replacement despite ongoing funding challenges. In the meantime, SEPTA has a robust maintenance and vehicle overhaul program, which has extended the life of these rail cars.  

“Impact to Customers:

“SEPTA will continue with our mitigation efforts in cooperation with the FRA and NTSB to ensure that the Silverliner IV railcars are safe for our customers.  

“Operations staff will continue to remove from service railcars displaying any indicators that have been identified as possible root causes of previous fire incidents. Over the next month, as SEPTA complies with the FRA Emergency Order, Silverliner IV railcars will be removed from service for inspections and to implement mitigation practices developed together with NTSB and FRA. These activities will likely impact service, and we will update customers of intermittent train cancellations and delays on the Alerts and Advisories page and social media. 

“Above all, our customers remain at the center of every decision SEPTA makes. We understand safety concerns can raise questions, and we want our riders to feel assured we are taking every step possible to ensure their safety as we work to provide critical service. 

“We will continue to share updates on this critical matter with our riders.”

SEPTA on Oct. 31 reported nearing completion of the 14 safety-related requirements outlined in the FRA’s Emergency Order issued on Oct. 1 in response to recent fires involving SEPTA’s Silverliner IV Regional Rail trains. The FRA it said has granted SEPTA an extension to finish “point-by-point inspections” of the railcar fleet and complete installations of new high-heat detectors.

“Immediately upon the issuance of the Emergency Order, SEPTA stood up a massive operation to conduct the complex inspections and address any needed repairs,” it said. “That has allowed SEPTA to meet almost all of the required actions by the FRA’s initial Oct. 31 deadline, and work will continue around-the-clock to finish the remaining items under the extension. SEPTA has worked closely with the FRA throughout this process.”

Over the last 30 days, SEPTA said it has completed nearly all of the required actions, including:

• “Developing a plan to determine the direct and contributing causes of each thermal incident that has occurred in 2025.
• “Reviewing the inspection, testing, and maintenance plan
• “Completing a stand-down and debriefing with every mechanical employee involved with the
  Silverliner IV railcars.
• “Reviewing and updating employee training requirements.
• “Reviewing and updating all technical documents.
• “Documenting all inspections and repairs made to the Silverliner IV fleet.”

SEPTA said it now has until Nov. 14 to finish the “enhanced inspections of every Silverliner IV railcar.” Specialized teams, it noted, have already inspected 120 of the 223 railcars in the fleet, on top of the normal inspections conducted on a regular basis.

The FRA also extended the deadline to Dec. 5 for SEPTA to install thermal protection circuits on the Silverliner IV railcars. SEPTA reported that it is working to procure the materials, train personnel, and install the circuits that will provide an added layer of protection.

“We are grateful for the FRA’s collaboration, and we are committed to following through on the required actions so that we can continue returning safe and reliable service to our customers,” SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said. “This has been a herculean effort by our workforce to establish this process and execute the required work, and I am confident in our ability to complete these tasks in a timely manner. We know our Regional Rail riders have been subjected to crowded conditions, pass ups, delays, and cancellations, and we expect those service disruptions to continue as we complete this critical safety work. We sincerely appreciate our riders’ patience and understanding.”

SEPTA said it will continue to work closely with the FRA and share progress on each directive to keep the public informed.

Meanwhile, “[t]he Fiscal Cliff that has been haunting the transit industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in ridership and revenue that it caused has placed SEPTA and many other providers in difficult financial straits,” according to a recent article by Railway Age Contributing Editor David Peter Alan. Read more of his SEPTA articles by clicking here and here.