MBTA launches first new Orange Line train

Rail News Home Mechanical 8/15/2019 Rail News: Mechanical
The Orange Line rail-car fleet will be replaced by the end of 2022.Photo – MBTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced yesterday its first new Orange Line train comprised of six rail cars has entered passenger service from Wellington Station in Medford, Massachusetts. 

The rail cars are the first of 152 new cars that will replace the current fleet operating on the Orange Line by the end of 2022, MBTA officials said in a press release. 

The cars are being assembled and tested at CRRC MA Corp.’s assembly plant in Springfield, before entering a testing phase at the Wellington yard and maintenance facility. 

The next six-car train will enter service in fall, with new cars continuing to enter service incrementally through 2022. 

When all new cars are in service, Orange Line capacity will increase by almost 40 percent, handling an additional 30,000 riders per day, agency officials said.

MBTA's procurement contract for the Orange Line cars, which included 252 subway cars for the Red Line, totaled about $1 billion. The procurement is part of the MBTA’s $8 billion, five-year capital investment plan.