U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announcement a major investment into SEPTA’s railcars. Duffy, along with SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer, made the announcement during a press conference at the transit agency’s Overbrook Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia on Thursday, Sept. 3. Duffy said the Federal Transit Administration is investing $13.3 million into SEPTA. The money will go towards upgrades to SEPTA’s Silverliner IV railcars as well as new twin railcars. Those twin railcars will not be bilevel, according to SEPTA. The money is part of $166 million in total investments from the FTA for transit across the country, including $83 million for 45 new light rail vehicles in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, according to Duffy. In August 2026, Pennsylvania approved an updated long-term transportation plan that includes the $2 billion project to replace all 218 of SEPTA’s Silverliner IV railcars. The trains are more than 50 years old, with the oldest built during the Nixon administration. SEPTA said they are the oldest railcars still in operation in the country and are well past due for replacement. In 2025, SEPTA inspected all of its Silverliner IV railcars under a federal mandate from the National Transportation Safety Board following multiple fires involving the trains. ...read more read less