electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
railcar designed and built by
Hyundai Rotem
Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...
. It is used by
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
's
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...
and
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
's
Regional Transportation District
The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...
. This is the fifth generation railcar in the
Silverliner
Silverliner is the name given to a series of electric multiple unit (EMU) railcars in commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area since 1958. As of the introduction of the Silverliner V in 2009–2010, there have been 5 generations of ...
family of single level EMUs.
SEPTA Regional Rail
The cars feature expanded interiors and windows, additional entrances and screens used to display information about the service. They are all
ADA
Ada may refer to:
Places
Africa
* Ada Foah, a town in Ghana
* Ada (Ghana parliament constituency)
* Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria
Asia
* Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...
compliant and meet
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...
safety requirements.
SEPTA ordered a total of 120 cars at a cost of $274 million; the first cars arrived in the United States on 28 February 2010 from
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, where they were manufactured by
Hyundai Rotem
Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...
. The cars were built in South Korea and final assembly took place in
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west. The cars entered revenue service on 29 October 2010 and all 120 were to be completed by the end of 2011. However, due to delays that were reportedly to last until mid-2012, SEPTA is owed millions in fines for the overdue equipment. SEPTA also closed off the very front row of seats due to safety concerns.
The last of the 120 cars arrived on property for testing in February 2013.
Cars 735, 736, 871 and 872 are owned by the state of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. However, they are used systemwide for service, and are not restricted to use on services to Delaware only.
On July 2, 2016, SEPTA removed all 120 of its Silverliner V cars – a third of its fleet – from service due to fatigue cracks in the
trucks
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
, leading to reduced service system-wide. The agency received some of the trains back in September 2016; but subsequently withdrew 18 cars after and additional defect that was identified as a “clearance issue” that led to minimal, occasional contact between old and new components”. SEPTA announced that it could resume normal schedules on October 3 and would receive all trains by November 2016.
RTD Commuter Rail
In 2010 Denver's
Regional Transportation District
The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...
selected the Silverliner V for its new commuter rail line. A total of 66 cars were purchased in the
married pair
A twin unit or twinset is a set of two railroad cars or locomotives which are permanently coupled and treated as if they were a single unit. A twinset of cars or coaches can also be called a twin car. In US passenger railroad parlance, twin un ...
configuration for a total of $300 million. The first four cars were delivered to Denver on December 3, 2014 with service to start in 2016. As of 2020, Silverliner V trains are used on the RTD's A, B, G and N lines.
Differences between the RTD and SEPTA cars include support for only 25 kV 60 Hz AC electrification, two center opening high level doors per side, less powerful traction motors, full-width cabs, and bells.
Electromagnetic interference
Some users of audio equipment have found that the presence of tracks carrying Silverliner V cars have introduced detrimental
electromagnetic interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...
to playback and recording of audio. This phenomenon also affects audio and PA electronics inside the cars, although Hyundai Rotem has fitted filters to lessen the effect on internal equipment.