Trees rarely hit trains but that’s what happened last night along SEPTA tracks in Delaware County.
A tree fell on some overhead wires then on a Center City-bound Media-Elwyn Line Regional Rail train near the Wallingford Station (E Possum Hollow Road & Kershaw Avenue) a little after 10 p.m.
Four people were on board the train, no one was hurt, according to SEPTA.
The electrical connectors on top of the train were damaged and the train remained on the tracks for hours. Crews worked through the earlier morning hours to clear the tree.The branches were gone after a few hours but that damaged train was still on the tracks.
SEPTA hoped to clear the scene in time to get trains moving for the morning commute but couldn't get the train off the track. The first train inbound to the city was scheduled for 5:43 a.m. Some delays could be expected as commuters boarded inbound trains on the outbound tracks instead.
Around 7:15 SEPTA announced that passengers could begin boarding again from the inbound platform but 15 minute delays remained until the damaged train was finally towed away around 8 a.m., according to SEPTA spokeswoman Heather Redfern.
It’s unclear what caused the train to fall down.
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This accident comes a day after the first SEPTA Safety Day when the transit authority urged commuters to travel safe.
