After negotiations stalled, SEPTA's Regional Rail engineers
and electrical workers have gone on strike. The train service has been
shuttered indefinitely as the the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and
Trainmen (BLET) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
walked off the job around midnight on Saturday morning.
SEPTA's 13 Regional Rail lines typically serve 60,000 people
each weekday.
A sign on the Regional Rail entrance at 15th and Market
Streets read the following: "Regional Rail Customer Service Notice.
Regional Rail service suspended due to work stoppage. Alternate service and
trip planning information available at www.septa.org."
If the strike lasts until Monday morning, commuting in and
out of the city from the suburbs will be surely be a mess. Traffic is expected
to snarl on roads coming to and from the city, and some workers will have to
make alternative commuting arrangements, or work from home.
The Market-Frankford and Broad Street subways are running normally.
The trolleys, Norristown High Speed line and all buses are also running
normally.
Representatives from the National Mediation Board met with
both sides on Friday but could not strike a deal.
SEPTA has released a contingency plan on the strike, saying
it will increase capacity on other modes of travel including the Broad Street
Line, Market/Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, as well as trolleys
and buses.
The suspended Regional Rail lines include the following
lines: Airport, Manayunk/Norriston, Chestnut Hill East, Media/Elwyn, Chestnut
Hill West, Paoli Thorndale, Cynwyd, Trenton, Fox Chase, Warminster, Glenside
Combined, West Trenton, Lansdale/Doylestown, and Wilmington/Newark.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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