SEPTA Board Member Addresses Decision To Pull Defective Train Cars Out Of Service
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - SEPTA Board Member and State Representative Mike Vereb addressed the decision by the transportation agency to take 120 cars offline following the discovery of significant structural defects in them on Friday.
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Vereb, talking with Dom Giordano on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, applauded SEPTA for the thoroughness of their reaction in detecting the cracks and moving to keep passengers safe.
"These weren't all-of-the-sudden inspections. These were routine inspections. I hate to use the routine, but this is the work of people at SEPTA doing normal, routine inspections on these trains. The one crack, the noticeable full crack, actually presented with it, what they are calling a lean in the suspension of the train. This was not, let's go check this whole fleet, this was a matter of inspection of the fleet, both train, bus and everything else that happens with SEPTA. That's when this apparently came about and, frankly, it came about on Friday and SEPTA moved very quickly, notifying the board, its county partners to get the message out."
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He understands that this has already caused a great inconvenience for many in and around the city, but stressed that the call to take the cars out of service was the right one.
"This is a significant issue. Let's not underscore the fact that this is effecting thousands and thousands of people per hour. But, most importantly, the SEPTA organization understands that. I don't think this has ever happened before and I think it was a very smart move on the behalf of our GM to take this entire fleet out until we find out what goes on."
Vereb reiterated that safety will always be the foremost concern.
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"I think everyone knows that SEPTA takes safety and security very seriously and I chair that committee and am very proud to do so...Here's the reality of it, we're going to make sure that whatever gets put online, gets put back online safely."
