Ice-Laden Trees Falling On Wires and Tracks Slams SEPTA Regional Rails
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Icy conditions led to big problems for SEPTA and its commuters today.
Dozens of trees, groaning under the weight of all that ice, toppled onto overhead signal wires and train tracks.
Service was suspended on the Paoli, Cynwyd, and Warminster regional rail lines.
"We have people out there, working over miles of territory to clear trees and get things restored," said SEPTA deputy general manager Jeff Knueppel.
Service on the West Trenton line was also canceled, but that was due to a CSX freight train derailment.
Major delays also occurred on other routes, including Doylestown, Pa. and Newark, Del.
Commuters were better off riding buses, subways, and trolleys.
"It really wasn't bad -- it was a five-minute delay," said one man. "Besides the rain, it really wasn't that bad."
However there were still some problems: bus routes 120, H, and XH were suspended for a time, and a couple of dozen other routes were running with detours. Check SEPTA's web site for the latest information.
(As of 1pm today, SEPTA's web site advised visitors that it was having technical difficulties providing details of service interruptions. The site suggested to commuters that they follow Septa's Twitter feed instead.)
