As of 2012, all cars have a blended red-and-blue SEPTA window logo and "ditch lights" that flash at grade crossings and when "deadheading" through stations, as required by Amtrak for operations on the Northeast and Keystone Corridors.

[11][12] The cars were built with wider seats and quarter point doors for easier boarding or departing at high-level stations in Center City.

[13] In late 2014, and the beginning of early 2015, SEPTA began the "Rebuilding for the Future" campaign that will replace all deteriorated rolling stock and rail lines with new, modernized, equipment, including ACS-64 locomotives, bi-level cars, and better signaling.

They were intended to be delivered beginning in 2019, but repeated delays, design flaws, and quality control issues caused the order to be cancelled in April 2024.

After construction of the Center City Commuter Connection, the two electrical systems now meet near Girard Avenue at a “phase break,” a short section of unpowered track, which trains coast across.

Reading began electrified operation in 1931 to West Trenton, Hatboro (extended to Warminster in 1974) and Doylestown; and in 1933 to Chestnut Hill East and Norristown.

When the suburbs expanded into what had been fields and pastures, the trip to the station required an automobile, leading commuters to remain in their cars and drive all the way into the city as a matter of convenience.

[16] Faced with the possible loss of commuter service, local business interests, politicians, and the railroad unions in Philadelphia pushed for limited government subsidization.

The success of the PSIC subsidy program resulted in its expanding throughout the five-county suburban area under the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Compact (SEPACT) in 1962.

[16] The Regional Rail SEPTA inherited from Conrail and its predecessor railroads was almost entirely run with electric-powered multiple unit cars and locomotives.

The death knell for any resumption of diesel service was the Center City Commuter Connection tunnel project, which lacks the necessary ventilation for exhaust-producing locomotives.

[18] A lawyer who regularly commuted from Newtown on the Fox Chase Rapid Transit line filed a class action lawsuit against SEPTA to force the agency to keep trains running.

[18] The judge who heard the case, while agreeing that SEPTA probably would not be able initially to operate a full schedule, ordered the agency to keep as much train service running as possible.

While recent rises in oil prices have resulted in increased rail ridership for daily commuters, many off-peak trains run with few riders.

After the original service patterns were introduced, the following termini changed:[citation needed] On July 25, 2010, the R-numbering system was dropped and each branch was named after its primary outer terminals.

State and local officials, commuters, and general observers were quick to brand SEPTA as the most inept of all the major transit agencies, though getting a handle on what exactly was the cause of its ills was historically difficult.

[29] Railpace Newsmagazine contributor Gerry Williams commented that understanding what routinely transpires in SEPTA upper management rarely made itself clearly known to the general public.

The station is expected to see 500 commuters on a typical weekday, as it will sit next to U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and serve the nearby corporate headquarters of convenience store chain Wawa.

This experimental Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line caused a rift in unions within the organization, adding to the March 1983 strike that lasted 108 days.

[citation needed] Nonetheless, the results of decades of deferred maintenance on the Reading Viaduct between the Center City Commuter Connection and Wayne Junction continued to threaten the right-of-way.

"[18] The viaduct was shut down completely from April 5 to October 3, 1992, and from May 2 to September 4, 1993, with the R6 Norristown, R7 Chestnut Hill East, and R8 Fox Chase lines suspended.

[18][37] In 1993, SEPTA added a loop track to Fern Rock Yard, so that northbound trains did not need to use the crossovers at the station throat, somewhat ameliorating the problem.

[18] During peak hours, SEPTA ran several diesel trains from the Reading side branches, along non-electrified Conrail trackage, to 30th Street Station.

[18] Upon the completion of RailWorks, the Reading Viaduct became the "newest" piece of railroad owned by SEPTA, although other projects have since allowed improved service on the ex-Reading side of the system.

[47][48] As a result of the strike, SEPTA planned to add additional capacity on bus, subway, and trolley routes along with the Norristown High Speed Line during off-peak hours.

[48] On the first day of the strike, Governor Tom Corbett asked President Barack Obama to appoint a presidential emergency board to attempt to end the labor dispute and force employees back to work.

[48] A short time after 7 p.m. on June 14, President Obama signed an executive order forcing workers to return and continue negotiations through the presidential emergency board.

[51] Service on the Wilmington/Newark Line to Newark resumed on January 25, 2021 in order to offer public transit options during a construction project along Interstate 95 in Wilmington.

Similar to other major infrastructure upgrades to existing commuter networks such as GO Transit Regional Express Rail in Toronto or the Caltrain Modernization Program in San Francisco.

The Silver Line would run from Fern Rock Transportation Center in North Philadelphia to Penn Medicine station in University City.