A Silverliner IV on train 385 collided with a car at the Red Lion Road crossing at 11:30PM last night.  Apparently, the car had been abandoned on the tracks with no lights on.  Fortunately, there were no injuries on the train. 

The lead S IV sustained considerable damage as the stairs on one of the traps was missing.  Also, one of the brake pipes was damaged and the train couldn't be moved.

For more information and updated information, please visit this thread on rr.net: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44640&sid=7a4a991dc533a8fb3d7203610baf562d

On November 18, SEPTA will give $1 credit to those who buy their tickets on board the train.  As we know, if a ticket is purchased on the train, whether the station has a ticket office or not, the rider is charged an additional surcharge (or what SEPTA calls it, the on board fare).

Soon, riders who pay the on-board fare will be able to take their receipt to a ticket office, and when they purchase their return ticket the same day, they will get a dollar off the ticket price.  Of course, this directly markets to the occasional Center City bound rider, as most ticket offices aren't open in the afternoon or on the weekends.

For more information on this new fare policy, please read the following article: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20071027_SEPTA_puts_strings_on_surcharge_rebates.html

Despite the borough's request for the watchtower to remain in place as a landmark, SEPTA took it down on October 20th.  Just a couple of weeks ago, it was deactivated, replaced with a new switch system at the complicated Main and Broad Street crossings.  Fortunately, SEPTA agreed to take it down intact, giving it to the borough to be placed in an undetermined location.  In the meantime, SEPTA will put a plaque in the watchtower's place, commemorating 151 years of service.

You can find pictures of the dismantling of the watchtower at the following website: http://www.trainweb.org/phillynrhs/RPOTW071021.html

On the afternoon of October 18th, 2007, a SEPTA Freightliner Champion Cutaway caught fire on Phoenixville Pike southbound near the 322 Bypass in West Goshen.  The fire melted virtually the entire bus as seen in pictures on the Fame Fire Company of West Chester website.

This bus will never see service again and will soon be in the scrap yard.  Because of the damage to the bus, the number cannot be determined.  The bus was either a southbound route 92 bus or a bus deadheading to the 314 in West Chester from the Krapf's garage just up the street from where the fire occurred.  No injuries and everyone were reported to have exited the vehicle before the fire really spread.  Due to the lack of fire suppression systems found on most transit vehicles, the fire was able to flame broil just about the entire vehicle.  A fire suppression system would have helped to prevent the bus from looking like it does now.

At the beginning of next week, the general public will finally be able to register for the PATCO Freedom Card.  The following registration sessions at Walter Rand Transportation Center (aka, Broadway East) will allow PATCO customers to obtain 20 dollars Freedom Cards to use:

Monday, November 19 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 20 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, November 21 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Also, Broadway East will have all of the old legacy machines replaced with the new fare collection equipment.  This will begin the night of November 26, 2007, and this side of Broadway Station will temporarily be closed.

For more information, please visit PATCO's website: http://www.ridepatco.org/content.asp?page=FREEDOM%20News&param=2&publication=24&pubnumber=423

Due to the History Channel's documentary about 1968, an Amtrak Acela trains received a full wrap that promotes this documentary.  Unfortunately, this wrap also cover the windows.  You can see pictures of this train on the Philly NRHS website: http://www.trainweb.org/phillynrhs/RPOTD071113.html

Soon, the R5 Paoli local may only be known as the "Paoli Local".  This recent change of heart stems from the long-time confusion of issues such as "which R3 will take me to Neshaminy Falls".

When the commuter rail tunnel was constructed in 1984, Reading RR lines and Pennsylvania RR lines with similar ridership characteristics were paired together.  This helped manage passenger car loads so that there weren't many cars on a train running empty.  At this time, R designations were used to represent the new combined lines.

With new line pairings in today's world, the Rs are nothing but confusing and unnecessary, as there's an R number representing a "Reading route" and the same R number representing a "Penn line".  SEPTA approached the Citizens Advisory Committee with the proposal to eliminate the Rs last spring, and they agreed that it would be a good idea. 

Now, SEPTA started to take action with their new plans.  On the website, they primarily refer to the Regional Rail Lines by their destination with the R designation in perenthesis.  Just look at the travel advisory page: the littls logos for each advisory completely leaves out the R designation. 

Also, in their new schedules, the R designation of the line is being moved to the right of the schedule, rather than the left side where it has been located all of these years.

Hopefully, this drastic change will help occasional and new riders navigate the Regional Rail system with great ease.

On Thursday night at around 8:15 pm, 5183 running on route 26 crashed into a minivan at Algon and Magee Avenues in Northeast Philadelphia.  This caused a police officer to crash into a nearby pole.  Unfortunately, those in the minivan were seriously hurt.  However, the police officer as well as the passengers on the bus were okay.

More details, including a video, are located at CBS's website: http://cbs3.com/topstories/SEPTA.Bus.Crash.2.594105.html