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Forty-seven might be middle-aged for a person, but for a SEPTA railcar, it’s time to retire.
Inside the Weccacoe Avenue factory, located just below Wolf Street, Hyundai Rotem of South Korea is building 120 shiny new railcars to replace 73 of the oldest in SEPTA’s regional fleet, according to SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney.
“Many of the current cars are over 40 years old,” he said. “We’re going to retire the oldest ones.”
Each of the 85-foot long Silverliner V cars will feature larger windows, wider aisles, an enhanced seating arrangement, as well as a state-of-the-art climate control system.
The total cost of the project is $274 million, Maloney said.
The manufacturing of the railcars was originally slated for the Navy Yard, 5100 S. Broad St., but those facilities did not meet requirements, partly because of potential flooding problems. With the Weccacoe Avenue location being available, Hyundai Rotem, based in South Korea, took advantage of the opportunity.
“This was the best place to accommodate the needs of the project,” Al Mincarelli, director of marketing and government affairs for Hyundai Rotem USA, said, adding that the company spent $20 million refurbishing the plant specifically for this undertaking. The company is currently testing three prototype pilot cars on the 1,500-foot outdoor test track.
The first cars should be ready for transporting Philadelphians to their destinations by late summer or early fall, Mincarelli said.
The Silverliner Vs are the first of SEPTA’s to be manufactured under the new Federal Railway Administration (FRA) regulation, Maloney said.
“The basic structure is much stronger and they’ll be up to current safety standards,” he said.
The FRA issued the regulation June 28, 2006, which came into effect for locomotives built after Jan. 1, ’09, according to the administration’s Web site.
“They’re better equipped to handle emergencies, and their safety features are enhanced,” Mincarelli said.
The new cars possess better “crashworthiness” in the same way automobiles are built to minimize damage to their passengers, he said.
“It’s kind of like a crash management system,” Mincarelli said. “During a crash, the frame’s crumple zones absorb the shock instead of people.”
Moreover, the actual seats will be superior to those of the older cars, which Maloney said have been re-upholstered numerous times.
“They’re quality, nice, new comfortable seats,” he said.
The cars will be able to accommodate up to 109 passengers — approximately a dozen less than the old ones — but because the number of cars will be greater, more seating will be available overall, according to SEPTA spokeswomen Sylvana Hoyos.
“There’s more seating, so it’s a win-win that way,” she said.
Last week, two of the new cars were displayed at Suburban Station, 1617 JFK Blvd., to give customers an early glimpse of the new rides.
“The general public view of them is that they like the cars a lot,” Mincarelli said, “because they’re brighter and more advanced.”
According to its Web site, SEPTA plans on phasing the cars into its fleet within the next two years, but Hyundai Rotem has leased the site until 2017, enabling the company to work on another U.S. project, Mincarelli said. It has a contract to build 75 cars for Boston’s public transportation system.
The plant will generate about 200 new jobs, according to Mincarelli. And all the building is done indoors, so South Philly residents will not experience any additional construction noise.
SEPTA has not determined exactly what will happen to the retired cars. If only they could retire to a nice, comfortable scrap yard in Florida to finally get some relaxation.
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