SEPTA Buys 24 Railcars from Montreal’s Exo for $8.58M | Trains.com News

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has finalized an agreement to purchase 24 used railcars from Exo, the public transportation operator serving the Greater Montreal area in Quebec, Canada. The acquisition is intended to bolster capacity and reliability for SEPTA’s Regional Rail fleet following significant service disruptions caused by safety inspections of its aging equipment.

SEPTA announced the deal on April 1, 2026, confirming that the board overseeing Exo’s operations had approved the transportation authority’s bid of $8.58 million during a meeting in March 2026. The transaction represents a cross-border effort to address urgent rolling stock shortages in the northeastern United States using available equipment from Canadian transit systems.

Funding and Official Approval

The funding for the purchase is drawn from approximately $220 million in additional capital dollars allocated by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in November 2025. This capital injection was designated to support urgent safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements for the transit authority. SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer acknowledged the state support in a statement regarding the acquisition.

We are grateful for Gov. Shapiro’s continued support of SEPTA, and we are committed to continuing to deliver improvements for our customers. These additional rail cars will help us enhance reliability and expand capacity for our customers while we work toward replacing our aging Regional Rail fleet.

Scott A. Sauer, SEPTA General Manager

Specifications and Deployment Timeline

The 24 coach cars were originally manufactured by Bombardier in the late 1980s, with specific records indicating a build year of 1989. According to SEPTA, the newly purchased cars are locomotive-hauled and will operate within the agency’s existing fleet of ACS-64 electric locomotives. Before the railcars can enter passenger service in Philadelphia, they must undergo upgrades to their doors and other systems.

SEPTA officials stated that a move of the equipment from Montreal to Philadelphia is currently being arranged. The agency aims to release a specific timeline for when the railcars will be placed into service later in the spring of 2026. This deployment follows a period of logistical coordination to transport the retired Canadian equipment south for refurbishment and integration.

Context of Fleet Disruptions

The purchase comes as SEPTA continues to recover from operational challenges related to its Silverliner IV fleet. These 50-year-old railcars make up approximately two-thirds of the Regional Rail fleet. Last fall, five of the Silverliner IV railcars caught fire, prompting the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to order inspections of all 233 cars in that fleet.

Large portions of the Silverliner IV fleet were removed from service while the federally mandated work was performed. This resulted in trip cancellations and reduced capacity for several months throughout late 2025. Federally mandated inspections on the Silverliner IV fleet were completed on November 14, 2025. Following the completion of these inspections, evening express service returned 10 days later, and morning express service resumed in January 2026.

While required repairs have been completed on most Silverliner IVs, SEPTA has committed to an enhanced maintenance program moving forward. The authority has explored shorter-term alternatives to avoid further service disruptions while replacement rail cars are procured. In addition to the purchase from Exo, SEPTA placed 10 rail cars leased from the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) into service earlier in 2026.

Exo Fleet Modernization

The railcars being sold to SEPTA were retired by Exo in 2022. Their retirement coincided with the arrival of 44 new bilevel cars built by CRRC for the Montreal system. The first of those new CRRC-built cars were delivered in 2022, and they began entering service in June 2024. The sale of the older Bombardier Comets allows Exo to divest retired equipment while providing SEPTA with immediate capacity relief.

SEPTA has been in contact with transit agencies across North America in recent months about potential rail car purchases. The acquisition of the Montreal coaches is part of an ongoing effort to stabilize the Regional Rail fleet as the agency works toward a long-term replacement strategy for its aging infrastructure and rolling stock.