SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - The first pair of next-generation Orange Line cars have been completed in Massachusetts, marking a significant milestone in the delivery of new subway cars to the MBTA, officials announced.
Gov. Charlie Baker joined state transportation officials on Tuesday at CRRC MA’s manufacturing facility in Springfield to celebrate the accomplishment.
“Since taking office, our Administration has prioritized improving the core infrastructure of the T and over the next five years, the T is planning to invest $8 billion to continue these efforts,” Baker said in a statement. “By completely replacing the fleets of the Orange and Red lines, and significantly upgrading signals, the T will improve reliability for riders, and we are proud to celebrate the delivery of the first new Orange Line cars today.”
CRRC MA, which employs about 200 people, is working to manufacture 404 subway cars for the MBTA, including 152 new Orange Line and 252 Red Line cars.
“We’re pleased that this milestone has been reached for these new subway cars,” MassDOT Secretary Stephani Pollack said. “A major focus to improve service has been to accelerate the pace of spending on the core infrastructure and our spending will be continuing at an aggressive pace. The Baker-Polito Administration is spending a total of $8 billion during the next five fiscal years which began this past July, most of it on state-of-good-repair and reliability-improvement projects that will significantly improve our riders’ experience.”
The new cars incorporate designs that accommodate improved passenger comfort, a new technology that provides important customer-facing information, and cutting-edge accessibility features, such as platform gap mitigation devices.
The MBTA is planning to start rolling out the new cars in 2019.
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