SEPTA to boost Regional Rail capacity as more people return to in-person work

A SEPTA Regional Rail train arriving at a station

PHILADELPHIA (KYW NEWSRADIO) — SEPTA is planning to boost Regional Rail capacity this fall as more people return to in-person work in Center City.

If it’s a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, it’s more likely to be standing room only as Nikki Bazemore of West Chester rides to 30th Street on her Regional Rail train.

“The early trains are a little empty, but the mid-morning trains, like the 9 a.m. trains, are definitely a lot more full,” Bazemore said. “Mondays and Fridays are really nice and quiet.”

As firms including Comcast and Independence Blue Cross mandate a return to the office, SEPTA has seen some midweek regional rail cars filling up.

“Regional Rail, obviously through the pandemic was our lowest performer, but we are seeing that trend start to reverse,” said SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer.

“When we get a report from a customer or from the crew that they’re seeing standees, we go out and take a look at that and see if there are changes we can make for that train, like adding a car here and there if that’s possible.”

Kastle Systems, a building security company that measures office occupancy by tracking security card swipes, has been monitoring the return to the office.

As of Feb. 12, about 43% of Philadelphia workers were back to in-person work, the highest weekly percentage since 2020. Last Tuesday, the daily figure topped 50%.

Regional Rails are operating at 77% of pre-COVID service levels, and ridership is at 57%, Sauer said.

SEPTA plans to add Regional Rail service this fall as it fills its engineer shortage.

“If the need were to put service back right away, our staffing would have limited us. But we haven’t seen that need up to this point,” he explained.  “Some of our employees were retiring — some were leaving for other opportunities, so we really had to concentrate on bringing our engineer ranks up,” he said.

SEPTA currently employs 185 locomotive engineers. Following an intense recruiting effort, the transit agency expects to be at its budgeted level of 213 engineers this summer.

Sauer estimated that 85% of Regional Rail service should be back by the end of the year. The question then becomes, will riders return?

“There were some who said, ‘Well you know, if you just put more service back, I’ll go back.  I’ll go back in the office, I’ll go back to Center City,” he said. “We’re not really sure. We put some service back in certain areas that was underutilized,” he explained. “We’ll see.”

Sauer says SEPTA’s aim is more peak service and more trains on weekends and evenings, by the end of the year.