#3443
Silverliner
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Budd Company· from 1958· Series of American electric commuter railcars
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SEPTA Silverliners-II-III-IV-V-V-Fern-Rock: Sturmovik at English Wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
Silverliner is the name given to a series of electric multiple unit (EMU) railcars in commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area since 1958. As of the introduction of the Silverliner V in 2009–2010, there have been 5 generations of Silverliner cars, identified by the Roman numerals I through V placed after the name Silverliner. The Silverliner name came from the classes' shiny stainless steel body shell, which contrasted with the painted and frequently rusting carbon steel railcars used by the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads between 1915 and 1936.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 68 years ago, in 1958.
- Top speed is 1.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 15 minutes.
- 25.9 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Still in service after 68 years.
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1958
- in service from
- 1958
- status
- in service
- number built
- 437
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Budd Company, St. Louis Car Company, Avco, General Electric, Hyundai Rotem
- operators
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Reading Company, Penn Central Transportation Company, Conrail, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Regional Transportation District
- top speed
- 161 km/h
- power
- —
- electric system
- overhead lines, Catenary:, 11-13.5 kvolt, V 25 Hz Alternating current, AC, 12 kvolt, V 60 Hz Alternating current, AC (SL-V only), 25 kvolt,…
- formation
- SL-I/II/III: Single unit, SL-IV/V: Married Pair and single unit
- length
- 25.9 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7516724, Wikipedia: Silverliner (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.