SEPTA's Trolley Tunnel Returns to Service After Months of Repairs
The trolley tunnel beneath Market Street in Center City was finally reopened on Monday morning, marking the end of a four-month repair project. The repairs, which began in mid-November, were necessary to address damage caused by new 4-inch sliders that connect trolleys to the overhead wiring.
SEPTA had replaced its existing 3-inch sliders with the larger ones in an effort to reduce wear and tear on the system. However, the newer sliders ended up damaging the wires, leading to two mass evacuations of passengers in October. As a result, SEPTA was forced to reinstall the original 3-inch sliders and replace 20% of the wiring in the tunnel.
The initial closure of the tunnel began on November 7, but it reopened just six days later as workers initially thought they had resolved all issues. However, further problems arose, prompting another shutdown. To mitigate the inconvenience for passengers, SEPTA ran a bus shuttle along Market Street between 15th and 40th streets.
The trolley tunnel is a critical artery, with approximately 60,000 people passing through it daily. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer acknowledged the prolonged closure was a significant disruption to riders and expressed appreciation for their patience. "Our crews worked around the clock to complete the emergency repairs and run test trolleys through the tunnel to ensure it is safe to reopen for service," he said.
In addition to the trolley tunnel reopening, SEPTA also resumed morning express trains on its Regional Rail lines, which had been operating on an all-local schedule since the fall while repairs were made to the Silverliner IV fleet.
The trolley tunnel beneath Market Street in Center City was finally reopened on Monday morning, marking the end of a four-month repair project. The repairs, which began in mid-November, were necessary to address damage caused by new 4-inch sliders that connect trolleys to the overhead wiring.
SEPTA had replaced its existing 3-inch sliders with the larger ones in an effort to reduce wear and tear on the system. However, the newer sliders ended up damaging the wires, leading to two mass evacuations of passengers in October. As a result, SEPTA was forced to reinstall the original 3-inch sliders and replace 20% of the wiring in the tunnel.
The initial closure of the tunnel began on November 7, but it reopened just six days later as workers initially thought they had resolved all issues. However, further problems arose, prompting another shutdown. To mitigate the inconvenience for passengers, SEPTA ran a bus shuttle along Market Street between 15th and 40th streets.
The trolley tunnel is a critical artery, with approximately 60,000 people passing through it daily. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer acknowledged the prolonged closure was a significant disruption to riders and expressed appreciation for their patience. "Our crews worked around the clock to complete the emergency repairs and run test trolleys through the tunnel to ensure it is safe to reopen for service," he said.
In addition to the trolley tunnel reopening, SEPTA also resumed morning express trains on its Regional Rail lines, which had been operating on an all-local schedule since the fall while repairs were made to the Silverliner IV fleet.
SEPTA needs to make sure these new sliders are tested better before they're used again. It seems like a lot of hassle and money went into the repairs already... 20% of wiring just to fix something that could've been avoided? 
Still, glad it's reopened now and commuters can get back to normal 
I swear, it's like they're just making this up as they go along.
like, didnt they just replace those 3-inch sliders? how did new 4-inch sliders cause so much damage? 
anyway, glad its back open now and not affecting ppl's daily commute. didnt see that bus shuttle thingy around though...
. and can you believe it took them 6 days to realize the new sliders were gonna cause issues? that's just lazy, you know? at least they're open now tho 
oh man, I'm so glad they finally fixed that trolley tunnel thingy! Can you believe SEPTA thought those new 4-inch sliders would be a good idea? I mean, who replaces something that's been working just fine for years with an upgraded version that ends up causing more problems? 
Anyway, I'm just glad they got it sorted out and can get back to normal service. On the bright side, at least the bus shuttle thing was a nice touch - someone's gotta keep the commuters happy, am I right? 
...btw, has anyone noticed how outdated the article layout looks? i mean, it could use some more white space and bullet points to make it easier on the eyes 
they had to do some major work cuz those new sliders they installed caused some major damage 
20% of the wiring got replaced and all that... so glad it's open again tho, only 4 months felt like forever 
i'm a local and i hate when their stuff is down 
but seriously SEPTA had to do like 20% of wiring replacement cuz those new sliders r not ideal 
guess that's what u get when u try 2 innovate 
btw did u know the tunnel gets like 60k ppl through it daily? 
SEPTA's got to be losing so much money on this one... all that downtime means lost revenue for them. but hey, at least they're back open now, and passengers can finally breathe a sigh of relief 
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. Glad they were able to get it sorted out in the end, though 
. Now we just wait and see if these new sliders will cause any more issues 
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