By the end of next year, the transit agency hopes to have all of the new cars in service, but over the next weeks, riders throughout the Regional Rail system can get a peek at the future, as SEPTA will shuttle the new cars among its lines.
After its inaugural run on the Cynwyd line, the new train was dispatched for a trip to Marcus Hook on the Wilmington/Newark line, and then for a run on the Chestnut Hill West line.
"We're going to be everywhere. We want to let everybody get a taste," said Luther Diggs, SEPTA's assistant general manager of operations.
The new cars are brighter and roomier than their 1960s-vintage predecessors, with video display screens and digital message boards to announce stations. They feature state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems, bigger windows, mid-car doors, and quiet braking and acceleration.
The new cars have more two-seat configurations than the old ones, although some of the much-maligned three-across seats remain.
"It's beautiful," said Michelle Greenspan, 23, of Bala Cynwyd, as she headed home after visiting a friend in Center City. "It's clean and bright. It feels fancy."
She said it was "a huge surprise" to find her usual sparsely populated, one-car 8:31 a.m. train replaced by a shiny, new three-car train full of SEPTA officials, greeters, and reporters.
"It seems like a very smooth ride," said Hedy Cerwinka, 61, of Bala Cynwyd, riding into Center City with her husband, University of Pennsylvania theoretical physicist Gene Mele, as she does every day. "It's very helpful to have recorded announcements of the stops. If you're a regular rider, you knew what the person was saying, but a new rider might miss their stop."
