Philadelphia Summer Schools Closing At Height Of Heat Wave; SEPTA Persevering
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Summer schools run by the Philadelphia School District are dismissing early today and closing altogether tomorrow, because of the heat.
Summer enrichment programs are letting out at 1:00 PM this afternoon, and the regular bus transportation will be provided.
Meanwhile, SEPTA was reporting no out-of-the-ordinary problems this morning as trains, buses, and trolleys contend with the continuing heat wave.
In Septa's operations control center (below), workers were monitoring every vehicle in the sprawling system, watching for signs of breakdowns or other issues amid the sweltering heat.
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"Things are doing pretty good. We've had some minor incidents, nothing significant," chief control center officer Ron Hopkins told KYW Newsradio. "No major incidents so far through this heat wave."
Key concerns, he said, are the regional rails and trolleys that require overhead power.
"Because the heat causes the wires to expand, they'll sag. And then it can get caught up in the pantograph, which is what's on top of the cars."
Hopkins says commuters can get updates on heat related problems at septa.org.
Reported by Mike DeNardo and Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio 1060
