Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles (2018)

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83 Having gone through dozens of changes from the 1980s to the present time, the SEPTA regional rail network currently consists of 13 rail lines: • Airport Line • Chestnut Hill East Line • Chestnut Hill West Line • Cynwyd Line • Fox Chase Line • Lansdale–Doylestown Line • Manayunk–Norristown Line • Media–Elwyn Line • Paoli–Thorndale Line • Trenton Line • Warminster Line • West Trenton Line • Wilmington–Newark Line Weekday and weekend services are available on all lines except the Cynwyd Line, which operates only on weekdays. Daily operation hours are from 5:00 a.m. to midnight. Approximately 735 trains serve a total of 153 stations and provide approximately 127,000 passenger trips per average weekday. The SEPTA Regional Rail Division and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District’s South Shore Line are the only two commuter rail systems in North America that operate exclusively electrifi ed service. The SEPTA Regional Rail Division owns a fl eet of eight regional rail locomotives, 451 electric multiple units (EMUs), and 45 bi-level push-pull cars. The EMUs are nicknamed Silverliners for their fl uted stainless steel sides. SEPTA Regional Rail Division Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Philadelphia, PA HISTORY 2013 2010 2006 2000 1984 1983 1976 1966 1964 The Pennsylvania General Assembly approved Act 89 of 2013 and created dedicated funding for multimodal transportation projects, which may include passenger rail. SEPTA lines were renamed after their primary terminals instead of the R-numbering system adopted in 1984. SEPTA awarded a contract for 104 new railcars. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation provided funds to purchase additional coaches to increase service on lines to New Jersey during a reconstruction of Interstate 95. The Center City Commuter Tunnel opened and joined the previously separate Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and Reading Company (RDG) terminals into a through station. The SEPTA commuter rail system thus became a consolidated system. SEPTA assumed operational responsibility for commuter rail from Conrail. Conrail took over the bankrupt PRR and RDG and continued providing commuter services for SEPTA. SEPTA began to subsidize commuter lines operated by PRR and RDG. The Pennsylvania General Assembly established SEPTA to preserve passenger rail services in the Philadelphia region. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Regional Rail Division operates the nation’s sixth largest (in terms of ridership) commuter rail network. SEPTA is a multimodal transit authority that provides a network of fi xed-route services, including bus, subway, trolley, trackless trolley, and regional rail; the Americans with Disabilities Act required paratransit; and shared-ride programs for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

84 Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles The SEPTA Regional Rail Division is part of the general railway system of the United States. Accordingly, it is governed by Federal Railroad Administration regulations and safety requirements. SEPTA receives federal funds from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and must adhere to all FTA regulations. SEPTA reports operating, fi nancial, and safety data to the FTA National Transit Database (NTD). In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has state regulatory jurisdiction, but this does not include fi eld inspection personnel for operations and maintenance activities. The SEPTA Regional Rail Division is responsible for emergency preparedness and service recovery. The division also takes charge of planning, funding, and coordinating delivery of capital projects. SEPTA owns all commuter rail lines with the exception of three owned by Amtrak. SEPTA provides basic commuter rail operations and maintenance functions in house, instead of contracting services. SEPTA Regional Rail Division employees operate trains over all commuter rail lines, dispatch trains on the SEPTA-owned lines, maintain all equipment, and maintain the infrastructure for SEPTA-owned lines. Amtrak owns the infrastructure of three SEPTA lines: • Wilmington–Newark Line, operated on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor • Trenton Line, also operated on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor • Paoli–Thorndale Line, operated on Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor to Harrisburg A few independent contractors provide station maintenance/cleaning and off -train ticket sales service at SEPTA stations. The Pennsylvania General Assembly created SEPTA as an instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. SEPTA is governed by a board consisting of 15 members. Philadelphia and the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery each appoint two members to the board. The Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives collectively appoint four members, and the governor of Pennsylvania appoints one member. The board appoints a general manager, who directly manages all SEPTA operations and oversees all SEPTA employees. PERFORMANCE STATISTICS Past Trends 2012–2016 Service Data in RY* 2016 CONTRACTED SERVICE GOVERNANCE Data source: NTD *Report year: for each report year, NTD collects data refl ecting the reporter’s operation in the same fi scal year. Annual Operating Cost: $267,844,193 Total Directional Route Miles: 447 Passenger Car Revenue Miles: 19,334,288 Unlinked Passenger Trips: 36,187,570 Annual Total Passenger Miles: 455,691,636 Operating Cost per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Operating Cost per Passenger Passenger Trips per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Passenger Miles per Passenger Trip $13.85$13.99$13.25$13.21$13.88 20162015201420132012 $7.40$7.17 $6.70$6.64$6.91 20162015201420132012 1.871.951.981.99 2.01 20162015201420132012 12.5912.9913.20 13.5214.17 20162015201420132012 General Contracted Service Informa on Oversight and Responsibili es Amtrak dispatches trains on the three Amtrak-owned lines. SEPTA pays operating costs to Amtrak for infrastructure maintenance, power supply, dispatching, and station support, based on a mutually agreed cost allocation methodology. SEPTA also shares several Amtrak-owned and Amtrak- operated stations for its trains, including the main terminal at 30th Street in Philadelphia; in Wilmington, Delaware; and in Trenton, New Jersey.

SEPTA 85 A—Agency; B—Host Railroad (RR); C—Amtrak; D—Independent Contractors (RR or Non-RR) Train Operations Maintenance of Infrastructure Maintenance of Equipment Specifically: Train Dispatching Services Train Operations Maintenance of Equipment Facilities Maintenance Maintenance of Way (1) Provision of Electric Traction (1) Signals and Communication Positive Train Control Maintenance Station Operations and Maintenance (2, 3) Non-revenue Equipment Provision Safety Management Security Services Environmental Services Management/Oversight Services Materials Management Services Risk Management Assessment Customer Service Functions Marketing Communications Ticketing/Sales (3) Revenue Collection (3) Information Technology Systems Accident/Fatality Investigations/Support Supplemental Work (na) Other (na) A B C D Contracted Service Matrix Notes for Matrix: 1. SEPTA is responsible for the SEPTA-owned infrastructure. Amtrak is responsible for the three lines operated over Amtrak infrastructure. 2. SEPTA trains use several Amtrak-owned and Amtrak- operated stations. 3. The commuter rail system in Philadelphia has a long history of contracting out station maintenance and off - train ticket sales, predating SEPTA and going back to Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) service operation prior to 1983. SEPTA on-train personnel still sell tickets, collect revenue, and verify/ validate tickets. The matrix below illustrates the responsibility for major service functions for the SEPTA Regional Rail Division. The capital letters A, C, and D represent the SEPTA in-house staff, Amtrak, and the independent contractors, respectively. In this case, B for the host railroad is not applicable.