Production of SEPTA Silverliner V railcars

[WMAveteran]

A friend in the Philadelphia area sent me an article from a Philadelphia newpaper that described the manufacturing of the new Silverliner V railcars. 

They are being manufactured by Hyundai Rotem USA Corp. in a refurbished factory on Weccacoe Avenue (below Snyder Avenue) in South Philadelphia.  At the time the article was published there were 48 railcars in the factory (so it must be huge).  Hyundai Rotem is buildling 120 new Silverliners that will have 3 and 3 seating and no restrooms.  Each SEPTA railcar costs almost $2.3 million and "Hyundai was losing money on the deal."  A Hyundai VP was quoted as saying " We made the pricing to cover the costs at the time, but certain costs were underestimated."  The car shells were made in South Korea but the final assembly takes place in the United States.  The cars are being manufactured with "half cabs" for the engineer but SEPTA employees apparently are lobbying for full-width cabs.