(The Philadelphia Daily News posted the following article by Gloria Campisi on its website on February 12.)
PHILADELPHIA — In the central rail corridor between 30th Street and Suburban Station, some of the overhead lines are up to 70 years old.
Transit authority officials did not know last night whether it was the aging equipment or the weather that caused lines to sag there yesterday, but they do know a train hit the lines, prompting chaos in the regional rail system for the second straight day.
Some morning rush-hour passengers were stuck up to two hours on trains that ground to a halt before reaching their stations. The accident occurred at 8:15 a.m., and power wasn’t fully restored until 3 p.m., said SEPTA spokesman Jim Whitaker. The rail system carries 37,000 riders daily.
Monday, the commuter rail system was shut down after someone left a briefcase on a train platform at SEPTA’s Market East Station about 6:30 a.m., and the bomb squad had to be called. The briefcase turned out to be empty, but trains continued to run late.
Downed lines on the Center City stretch of the sprawling rail system affect the whole system, Whitaker said, because, “All our trains generally go through that area.” He said employes worked to restore power area to area.
“You could run to Fern Rock on one side of the railroad,” he said, but there were delays and cancellations throughout the system.
Shuttle buses were continuing to be used on the R1 airport line and the R6 Cynwyd line from Overbrook late yesterday because workers were sent to restore more heavily traveled routes first, Whitaker said.
He said SEPTA was still investigating what caused yesterday’s accident. The lines are gradually being replaced as part of a special restoration project, he said.