Irish Chieftain:
SEPTA could negotiate with Amtrak & NS to re-install the appropriate switches at ZOO, which Amtrak agreed to remove for CR in the mid-1990s. The above plan would allow operation into either level of 30th St. Station. Pax changing between SEPTA trains at 30th's upper level is a piece of cake. Doing so via the lower level is a harder sell to potential riders, but still better than no diesel service at all. None of the other options you mentioned for termini are needed, let alone financially, politically, or physically feasible. (I'm sure you put them there for completeness' sake WRT this subject.)
Of course, SEPTA being SEPTA, the "confederacy of dunces" will try to find some way to turn that simple solution into a tangled nightmare. Which leads me back to the subject of this thread.
On topic--
I found the philly.com article posted today (Sat.) very disturbing. Our own JeffK touched upon the reason. SEPTA just took a major shortcut in order to head off a very public lawsuit. Why would they do this? Is the agency afraid of having key management personnel give sworn depositions? It looks like one might be able to say that. From the article:
" Kawasaki attorney Richard A. Sprague suggested the prospect that SEPTA officials, employees and others would be questioned prompted the agency to end the litigation.
"There are a lot of people who didn't want to be deposed," Sprague said. A SEPTA lawyer called Sprague's comment unfair. "
OK, this comment -is- coming from a lawyer representing Kawasaki, not United Transit Systems. Still, he makes a good point. I find it goes hand-in-glove with SEPTA management's all-too-common tactic of slipping away from events & inquiries which could, to put it mildly, paint the agency in something other than a favorable light. More:
" Had Kawasaki's lawsuit continued, Sprague was scheduled to depose 23 people. He would not disclose that list, but Kawasaki said it included Deon and Novak, as well as key SEPTA engineers and professionals. Kawasaki has alleged that at least one key technical official knew nothing of the specification change until after it had occurred.
SEPTA attorney Mark Gottlieb said the agency had "agreed on the deposition schedule long before this decision was made" and called Sprague's contention that the agency was avoiding the depositions an "unwarranted inference." "
I love the smell of unwarranted inferences in the morning. They smell like victory. (Cue up "Ride of the Valkyries") And there's more to make your head spin:
" "SEPTA is already in a severe budget crisis, and a protracted legal challenge would cost precious money and time," Deon said in the statement. "
Oh, really? So I guess you're doing everyone a huge favor with this suspiciously-early "roll over and play dead" tactic. How generous of you to look to the agency's fiscal responsibility, Pat. Your diligence makes me dizzy with joy. But I think you forgot to add the rest. I'll help you:
"Defending against this legal challenge would have created the possibility of shedding light on some wasteful, lazy, & ill-researched decisions on the part of SEPTA management. As a part of the problem rather than part of the solution, I could not allow this to happen. The resulting tornado of negative publicity would have worsened even further, putting undue stress upon the Board's & upper management's pledge to look good in the press while aiding the riding public as little as we can get away with.
Why can't the pro--'maybe the bid process was bogus?', anti--'science has proven that 3+2 seating is good for you!' whiners and fanatics out there just be grateful, and shut up? Haven't the rail watchdogs stirred up enough resentment among the proles? The riders can trust us. We're 'Christian men of industry'!"
Surely this "omission" was an innocent mistake. The reporters clamoring; heat of the moment, and all that.
Pat, there's a phonecall for you from 1902. George Baer wants his robber-baron cape and mask back!
The entire Silverliner V story, from the beginning to now, is more proof that SEPTA is unable to intelligently plan for the future. Now more -time- will be wasted, more -money- will be wasted, and in the end there's zero assurance that this story will end well. Hey, why bother? We're only talking about a replacement of a huge portion of the commuter rail fleet, where mistakes will have consequences for -decades- to come! Why sweat it? OK, enough sarcasm. Just one serious question left...
...is this -truly- the best that can come out of 1234 Market Street?
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