No one was injured when a SEPTA train went off the rails early Wednesday morning in North Philadelphia, but the incident caused major disruptions to Regional Rail service.
Fifty people, including three SEPTA employees, were aboard the outbound Manayunk-Norristown Line train that derailed just after midnight between the North Philadelphia and Wayne Junction stations, transit officials said.
The train was traveling slowly — at about 10 mph, according to SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch — and riders were taken to Wayne Junction to board a shuttle bus.
Busch said the cars were re-railed and removed by 7 a.m. Wednesday and that crews were on site repairing “moderate damage” to the tracks.
The Manayunk/Norristown, Fox Chase and Chestnut Hill East lines were suspended in the wake of the accident, and trips were curtailed on all other Regional Rail lines.
Train service was fully restored at 3 p.m. Wednesday, with residual delays still impacting schedules, authority representatives said.
Busch told Metro that there is no indication that the derailment was caused by high temperatures. SEPTA lowers top train speeds during heat waves. An investigation into the cause is ongoing.
The derailment happened hours after a CSX freight train crashed near the Neshaminy Falls Train Station in Bensalem, causing extensive damage. The freight tracks run parallel to SEPTA’s West Trenton Line, though the authority’s rails were not impacted. Service was halted to allow for an emergency response but ultimately resumed Tuesday night, Busch said.
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