Septa Regional Rail

Power problems again caused problems on SEPTA's Regional Rail lines during this morning's rush hour. SEPTA reported delays of up to an hour on the West Trenton line and 30 minutes on all other lines. Sylvana Hoyos, a SEPTA spokeswoman, said a fuse problem at the Jenkintown station caused the systemwide slow down. The problem was later fixed and trains were running on or close to schedule, she said. Twice last month, power problems disrupted service on SEPTA Regional Rail as well as on Amtrak and NJ Transit trains operating on the Northeast Corridor.

A 36-year-old man was killed by a SEPTA Regional Rail train Friday morning in North Philadelphia, the transit agency said. The man was struck by the northbound Lansdale/Doylestown train at 6:33 a.m. just south of the North Broad Street station, said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident was under investigation and the man's name was not released.     - Robert Moran

A smoky electrical fire forced the evacuation of approximately 300 passengers from a SEPTA regional rail train and disrupted the commute for hundreds more Monday evening, an agency spokeswoman said. No injuries were reported when smoke on an outbound Thorndale-Paoli train shortly before 7 p.m. forced it to stop in Overbrook, said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams. The train, which left 30th Street Station at 6:49, stopped less than 10 minutes later in Overbrook to let passengers off to wait for train service to resume.

A power problem halted passenger rail service between Washington and New York, including all SEPTA Regional Rail trains, for about an hour during this morning's rush hour. Amtrak blamed low voltage for the disruption, the second in two weeks to affect the Northeast Corridor. NJ Transit trains operating on the Northeast Corridor as well as on the railroad's Coast Line also were affected. Trains were moving again, albeit slowly, around 9 a.m. and delays lingered through the day. The power problem began about 7:45 a.m., according to Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole.

Human error appears to have been the likeliest cause of a rare, head-on crash yesterday between two SEPTA Regional Rail trains traveling through a Montgomery County neighborhood. There appeared to have been no mechanical or signal failures behind the mid-afternoon crash that injured about 30 people in Abington Township, SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said. Most of the injuries were described as minor; none appeared to be life-threatening. The four-car trains crashed shortly before 3 p.m. on a single-track section of the R2 Warminster line, between the Roslyn and Crestmont Stations.

All SEPTA regional rail lines will be working Wednesday, operating from the normal start of service in the morning on a weekday schedule, SEPTA announced Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, PATCO announced that service resumed at 6 p.m. tonight, with trains departing every half hour. Amtrak was to resume most service in the area Wednesday, though New York City service remains suspended because of tunnel flooding. NJ Transit said it would resume limited bus service Wednesday in Camden.

Already weary SEPTA Regional Rail commuters suffered another indignity yesterday evening when downed wires near 30th Street Station forced hours-long delays on the overburdened system. "These are Amtrak wire problems," a SEPTA spokesman said of the delay that began around 5 p.m., just at the height of the homebound rush. The delays caused a large backup of passengers at the Market East and Suburban Stations in Center City. At the Market East stop, commuters queued up in cattle-chute lines outlined by yellow ropes as message boards explained the reason for the delay, and SEPTA employees worked the floor giving verbal assistance.

A new SEPTA Regional Rail schedules go into effect on Sunday. SEPTA said changes include: Manayunk-Norristown Line Most weekday morning trains inbound to Center City will have earlier departure times. Glenside Combined Due to overhead wire replacement work, the following trains will no longer serve Glenside Station on weekdays and Sundays: Train 499 (4:29 a.m.) Train 403 (4:59 a.m.) Train 476 (1:03 a.m.) Substitute bus service will operate for trains 499 and train 403. Buses will depart from Glenside at 4:21 a.m. and 4:51 a.m. to connect with the train at Jenkintown.

Shhhhhh! Starting April 6, most SEPTA Regional Rail rush-hour trains will have a car on which cell-phone conversations and loud talking will be forbidden. The "Quiet Ride" car will be the first car of every peak-period train that has at least three cars. The "vast majority" of SEPTA's rush-hour trains have at least three cars, customer-service chief Kim Scott Heinle said. A trial run of the Quiet Ride program, which started in January on express trains on the R5 Lansdale/Doylestown line, was a hit, and many passengers of other lines clamored for the same thing, Heinle said.

FAWAIZ CLEMENS and Christopher Henderson, both 21, traveled to Philly from New York City on Friday just to ride the last Silverliner II and Silverliner III cars in SEPTA Regional Rail service, making their final run from Suburban Station to Bala Cynwyd before, as Arlo Gutherie sang, "this train's got the disappearing railroad blues. "   "I've been like this with trains since I was 2 years old," Clemens said. "I want to be a train operator or a bus operator or a cleaner or a custodian — just anything to work in a transit company.

ON BEHALF of the Philadelphia Police Foundation's Board of Directors, I want to commend the Philadelphia Police Department, and specifically the Homicide Task Force, that so expertly and expeditiously investigated and charged the alleged perpetrator of the horrific homicide of Dr. Melissa Ketunuti in her Center City home. This crime created a sense of fear among residents of this quiet neighborhood, particularly for the many professional women living in this section of the city. Under the expert leadership and direction of Commissioner Charles Ramsey, First Deputy Commissioner Rich Ross and Capt.

Travelers continue to encounter obstacles today. Mass transit is slowly resuming and roads are being reopened. But many services remain closed and downed trees, power lines, and flooding continue to block roads throughout the region. The following list of transportation services will be updated as changes in service are reported: SEPTA:   SERVICE LARGELY RESTORED TO NORMAL, SOME EXCEPTIONS. SEPTA services began returning at noon. The Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines opened at that time, running normal schedules.

All SEPTA regional rail lines will be working Wednesday, operating from the normal start of service in the morning on a weekday schedule, SEPTA announced Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, PATCO announced that service resumed at 6 p.m. tonight, with trains departing every half hour. Amtrak was to resume most service in the area Wednesday, though New York City service remains suspended because of tunnel flooding. NJ Transit said it would resume limited bus service Wednesday in Camden.

A 36-year-old man was killed by a SEPTA Regional Rail train Friday morning in North Philadelphia, the transit agency said. The man was struck by the northbound Lansdale/Doylestown train at 6:33 a.m. just south of the North Broad Street station, said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident was under investigation and the man's name was not released.     - Robert Moran

FAWAIZ CLEMENS and Christopher Henderson, both 21, traveled to Philly from New York City on Friday just to ride the last Silverliner II and Silverliner III cars in SEPTA Regional Rail service, making their final run from Suburban Station to Bala Cynwyd before, as Arlo Gutherie sang, "this train's got the disappearing railroad blues. "   "I've been like this with trains since I was 2 years old," Clemens said. "I want to be a train operator or a bus operator or a cleaner or a custodian — just anything to work in a transit company.

A new SEPTA Regional Rail schedules go into effect on Sunday. SEPTA said changes include: Manayunk-Norristown Line Most weekday morning trains inbound to Center City will have earlier departure times. Glenside Combined Due to overhead wire replacement work, the following trains will no longer serve Glenside Station on weekdays and Sundays: Train 499 (4:29 a.m.) Train 403 (4:59 a.m.) Train 476 (1:03 a.m.) Substitute bus service will operate for trains 499 and train 403. Buses will depart from Glenside at 4:21 a.m. and 4:51 a.m. to connect with the train at Jenkintown.

A smoky electrical fire forced the evacuation of approximately 300 passengers from a SEPTA regional rail train and disrupted the commute for hundreds more Monday evening, an agency spokeswoman said. No injuries were reported when smoke on an outbound Thorndale-Paoli train shortly before 7 p.m. forced it to stop in Overbrook, said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams. The train, which left 30th Street Station at 6:49, stopped less than 10 minutes later in Overbrook to let passengers off to wait for train service to resume.

Power problems again caused problems on SEPTA's Regional Rail lines during this morning's rush hour. SEPTA reported delays of up to an hour on the West Trenton line and 30 minutes on all other lines. Sylvana Hoyos, a SEPTA spokeswoman, said a fuse problem at the Jenkintown station caused the systemwide slow down. The problem was later fixed and trains were running on or close to schedule, she said. Twice last month, power problems disrupted service on SEPTA Regional Rail as well as on Amtrak and NJ Transit trains operating on the Northeast Corridor.

A power problem halted passenger rail service between Washington and New York, including all SEPTA Regional Rail trains, for about an hour during this morning's rush hour. Amtrak blamed low voltage for the disruption, the second in two weeks to affect the Northeast Corridor. NJ Transit trains operating on the Northeast Corridor as well as on the railroad's Coast Line also were affected. Trains were moving again, albeit slowly, around 9 a.m. and delays lingered through the day. The power problem began about 7:45 a.m., according to Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole.

SEPTA subway trains and trolleys are equipped with automatic systems designed to prevent the kind of crash that killed nine people and injured scores in Washington. But, as SEPTA operators and officials are acutely aware, so was the Washington system. "Without knowing the cause of the accident there, it's hard to know if it could happen here," Jeffrey Knueppel, assistant general manager and chief engineer at SEPTA, said yesterday. The Washington Metro accident Monday was probably a result of human error or equipment failure or signal malfunction, but it may be months before investigators pinpoint the cause.