SEPTA completes trolley tunnel repairs, targets mid-January reopening

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Naught

Philadelphia, PA - SEPTA is set to reopen its critical Center City trolley tunnel in mid-January following a lengthy and costly repair process. The five-mile underground tunnel, which runs beneath Market Street, has been closed since late November for extensive overhead wire repairs.

The transit authority announced that the necessary work was completed on Friday, followed by test runs beginning on Monday to ensure safe operation of the trolley service. SEPTA officials have been cautiously optimistic about the progress made so far in the tunnel testing phase and are working to fine-tune their plans.

"We're seeing some positive signs with the testing underway in the tunnel," said Andrew Busch, media relations director for SEPTA. "We'll continue to work on building on that momentum in the coming days." While an exact reopening date is still uncertain, SEPTA aims to reopen the tunnel by mid-January.

The extensive repair process began in late November as a result of a maintenance issue involving the sliders that connect trolley cars to the overhead wire. Initially, new four-inch sliders were installed to reduce wear and tear on the infrastructure, but this upgrade ultimately led to two mass train evacuations in October due to damaged overhead components. SEPTA has since reinstalled the original three-inch sliders.

The ongoing repair work is separate from SEPTA's annual cleaning and maintenance schedule, which typically takes place every summer. However, the transit authority has faced additional challenges recently with inclement weather events causing tree-related hazards on two Delaware County trolley lines, prompting the deployment of shuttle buses to supplement the service since December.
 
OMG u guys!!! 🤩 I cant even wait for that tunnel 2 reopen!! it's been so long!!!! SEPTA is literally the best and i'm so hyped about them getting it done by mid Jan! 💥 they're doing an amazing job w/ the repairs and i trust them 100%! 😂 its soooo nice 2 see those trolley cars zoomin thru the tunnel again 🚂💨
 
I don’t usually comment but it’s been ages since I last rode the trolleys in Philly 🚌 and I’m glad to hear they’re getting back up and running. The Center City tunnel has always been a bit of a bottleneck for me, so I hope it doesn’t cause too much congestion when it reopens. SEPTA seems like they're taking their time to get it right, which is good considering how critical the service is 🙏. Fingers crossed they can get everything sorted out by mid-January ⏰.
 
OMG u guys I was saying this like months ago but finally SEPTA is reopening the Center City trolley tunnel 🚂👍 mid Jan is gonna be a lifesaver for commuters who have been stuck with no way to get around Market St! and btw what's up with these slider issues tho? 🤔 new four-inch ones were supposed to reduce wear & tear but they caused 2 mass evacuations in Oct?! SEPTA needs to double-check their maintenance schedule lol. btw did anyone else notice how busy Delaware County trolley lines got since Dec because of tree-related hazards? 🌳😩
 
😊 I'M SO EXCITED TO HEAR THAT THE CENTER CITY TROLLEY TUNNEL IS GOING TO REOPEN IN MID-JANUARY!!! 🚂🎉 SEPTA HAS BEEN WORKING HARD ON THIS FOR TOO LONG AND IT'S ABOUT TIME WE SEE SOME RESULTS! 💪 WHAT I FIND FASCINATING IS HOW A SIMPLE MAINTENANCE ISSUE LED TO SUCH A COMPLEX AND COSTLY REPAIR PROCESS. FOUR-INCH SLIDERS VS THREE-INCH SLIDERS, WHO KNEW RIGHT?! 🤔 ANYWAY, I HOPE THE TUNNEL OPENS SOON AND WE CAN GET BACK TO OUR USUAL ROUTES! 😊
 
omg I'm so stoked that they're finally gonna reopen the Center City trolley tunnel in mid-Jan 🎉! I've been stuck in traffic trying to get to the Liberty Bell lately and it's been a real bummer 😒. I know SEPTA has been working hard on the repairs, but five miles is a looong time under the ground - my anxiety levels are kinda high 💥. Fingers crossed that they can get everything sorted out by mid-Jan and we can all get back to navigating the streets with ease 🚗. Andrew Busch seems like a pretty chill dude btw 😎, I'm rooting for him and SEPTA's team to make this happen! 💪
 
omg, i'm so glad they're finally reopening that tunnel! it's been ages since it was closed and i've been missing my daily commute thru Center City 🚂💨 i feel bad for all the commuters who had to take alternative routes or deal with traffic jams... but septa did a great job of keeping us updated on the progress 🤞 and now we just gotta wait it out till mid january 💯
 
OMG u gotta be so relieved 🙌 when they finally reopen that tunnel! It's been ages and u can't imagine navigating Center City w/o it 😂 SEPTA sounds like they're being super cautious tho... I mean, it's better to err on the side of safety, right? 💯 They've had some major setbacks already w/ those train evacuations... hope they get it just right this time 👍
 
OMG, can you believe that SEPTA's Center City trolley tunnel was closed for repairs and now it's like a big underground construction site 🌆😂! But seriously, who knew sliders could cause so much drama? I mean, new four-inch sliders, then two mass train evacuations... talk about a wire-y situation 😜. Glad to hear they're reinstalled the originals though, no more overhead wire drama for a while! And btw, mid-January is still kinda ambiguous, can't SEPTA just give us a straight answer? 🤔 Like "tunnel's open" or "nope, closed". Anyways, shuttle buses are deployed in Delaware County due to tree-related hazards... guess that's what they mean by "tree-mendous" maintenance 😂.
 
omg i'm so relieved they're finally reopening that tunnel in center city 🙌 it's been a nightmare for commuters and the thought of having to take those long bus routes is just awful 😩 but at least septa is being super transparent about the whole process and testing the tunnel carefully, i love how andrew busch is being cautious with his words, no pressure or false promises 🤞 fingers crossed they can get it reopened by mid jan and everything goes smoothly from there 💪
 
omg can u believe SEPTA had 2 mass train evacuations bc of new sliders lol what a mess 🤦‍♀️🚂 now they're re installing the original sliders and i guess we get 2 more months of tunnel closure 🕰️ mid-Jan is still kinda uncertain btw why cant they just stick to their original plan for once? 😒
 
aww man i feel u 😔 that SEPTA tunnel closure was a major bummer for all philly commuters 👋 it's been so long and i'm sure everyone is itching to get back on those trolleys 🚌 now that they're saying mid-Jan might be the reopen date i'm keeping my fingers crossed 💕 at least they're being cautious about testing the tunnel first which is a good thing 😊
 
I'm so glad they're finally reopenin' that tunnel in Center City! It feels like it's been forever since we've had to take a detour via Broad Street 🚂👎 You know back in the 90s, I used to ride that trolley all the time and now it's just a memory. I'm not surprised they're bein' super cautious with the test runs, though - safety first, you know? 😊 It's like when my grandma would always say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but in this case, they did need to do some work since them sliders went haywire 🤯. Fingers crossed it opens up on time and we can get back to our daily trolley rides without any more issues! 💨
 
so they're finally reopening the Center City trolley tunnel in mid-Jan? that's good news for commuters, but I'm still skeptical about all this. what's the estimated cost of these repairs again? and how much is SEPTA gonna raise our fares to cover it? 🤔 also, isn't it a bit suspicious that the issue was resolved after a mass train evacuation in October? why didn't they catch it earlier? need more info on that one 📝
 
OMG you guys!! 🤯 I'm so stoked that the Center City trolley tunnel is finally getting reopened in mid-January! I mean, can you imagine having to take a bus just because of some maintenance issue with the overhead wires? 😩 It's like, I get it, SEPTA wants everything to be perfect and safe, but come on, a little patience would be nice 🙄. And btw, four-inch sliders vs three-inch sliders... what even is that?! 🤷‍♀️ Is it really worth causing mass train evacuations? 😂 Anywayz, fingers crossed that the tunnel reopens without any hiccups and we can get back to enjoying our trolley rides! 🚂💨
 
omg I'm so hyped that SEPTA is finally reopening the Center City trolley tunnel in mid-Jan! 🚂💨 I've been stuck on the surface for ages and it's gonna be a game changer. I hope they test everything super thoroughly though, can't have another evacuation like last October 😬. And what's up with these inclement weather events? Tree-related hazards are no joke, especially during rush hour 🌳💦. Anyways, fingers crossed SEPTA gets this tunnel reopened ASAP so we can get back to zooming around Philly! 🚨👍
 
I'm glad they're finally fixin' that old trolley tunnel 🚂😊. I mean, can you imagine tryin' to get around Center City without bein' able to take the trolly? It's like a part of our city's soul is missin'. And don't even get me started on them overhead wires - they're always causin' trouble 🤯.

I remember when I was a kid, we didn't have all these fancy-schmancy trains and buses... no sir! We just had the trolly, and it worked like a charm 💪. Nowadays, it's like they're tryin' to figure out how to get things done 🤔.

But hey, at least they're makin' progress, right? And I'm happy for 'em that they're seein' some positive signs with the testing in the tunnel 😊. Just hope they can get it open by mid-January and not leave us waitin' around like a bunch of impatient folks 🙄.
 
I don’t usually comment but I had a major issue with delays like this last year when my buddy was stuck in Centre City for hours waiting for the trolley... anyway, it’s cool that SEPTA is getting the tunnel fixed and all, they really need to get that service running smoothly again. Five miles of underground tunnel is no joke! 🚂💪 I mean, the fact that there were two mass train evacuations in October already, it's crazy how quickly things can go wrong with infrastructure... but kudos to SEPTA for pushing through and getting this done. Let’s just hope they stick to their mid-January reopening plan 🤞
 
I don’t usually comment but I think it's kinda good that they're reopening the Center City trolley tunnel by mid-January. I mean, it's been closed for ages and I'm sure all the commuters are itching to get back on their usual route. The fact that they had to do major repairs due to a maintenance issue with the sliders is pretty concerning though 🤔. I hope they've double-checked everything before opening it up again. And can we talk about how SEPTA has been handling those inclement weather events in Delaware County? Deploying shuttle buses is a good move, but I feel like they should've been prepared for that kind of thing 😅.
 
omg is that good news for philly commuters? 🙌 i mean its been so long since they closed that tunnel and now theyre like back on track...literally lol so im curious how much did it cost to fix that thing? like thousands or millions? 💸 and what about those tree-related hazards on the delaware county trolley lines? hows that affecting the commute? 🌳 are shuttle buses a permanent fixture now?
 
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