Iconic Green And Cream SEPTA Trolleys Returning To Service Sunday

PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA's iconic green and cream are returning to service this weekend.

SEPTA is hosting a celebratory ride of the Presidents' Conference Committee Wednesday at its Woodland Shop.

The event will begin with a safety briefing, and conclude with a celebratory ride and shop tour.

SEPTA CEO/General Manager Leslie Richards, SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth Lawrence Jr., 3rd District Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, and SEPTA's Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer will be in attendance.

The historical trolleys will officially return to service on Route 15 starting Sunday.

Presidents' Conference Committee Trolleys embody a rich history in Philadelphia – a staple for 75 years along Route 15, which serves Port Richmond to West Philadelphia via Girard Avenue, SEPTA said. Over the last four years, SEPTA’s dedicated workforce has meticulously taken apart and rebuilt the trolleys piece by piece.

SEPTA hoped for the trolleys to return in the fall last year after removing them from service in 2020 due to numerous issues found among the fleet.

The repair work on trolley cars ranged from $250,000 to $400,000. The transit authority expects to get 10 more years of use from the repaired cars.

Maintenance workers have had to reverse engineer parts of the 76-year-old trains and manufacture parts that are no longer produced.

Some were even stripped down to the base and rebuilt.

Modernized amenities include air conditioning and accessibility.