Take a Look Inside the MBTA’s New Orange Line Train Cars
An updated fleet will completely replace the current vehicles by 2023. The sleek trains have more space and wider doors to accommodate Boston commuters.
Photo via MBTA
Sure, you could eat a fancy steak dinner, buy a sparkly new necklace, or spend a posh night at the opera, but nothing really says “razzle dazzle” quite like a ride aboard a brand new MBTA train.
On Tuesday, state officials got a look at the sleek Orange Line cars expected to hit the tracks by 2019, and not one Ronald Reagan-era carpet swatch was spotted lining the new seats. The shiny vehicles—complete with extra space for passengers, wider doors, and updated displays—are a far cry from the rusty trains that have been chugging along since the 1970s.
Gov. Charlie Baker, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, MBTA general manager Luis Ramírez, and others viewed the vehicles at Wellington Yard, where the T is testing its new trains. All of the current Orange Line cars will be replaced by 2021, by which point the fleet will be comprised of 152 new vehicles built primarily by the Chinese company CRRC, according to the Boston Globe. The new trains, which have folding seats to maximize space, aim to alleviate an all-too-familiar pain point for Boston commuters.
“Once these start running, it will dramatically increase the system’s capacity during rush hour,” Baker told reporters, according to the Globe. “Anybody who rides the Orange Line during rush hour knows the single biggest issue we’ve got there is we don’t have enough trains moving through at that point in time.”
The Red Line is also poised for a makeover and will receive new cars of its own by the end of 2023. All told, the fresh fleets will cost around $1 billion, according to MassLive.
Take a look inside the brand new T cars coming (somewhat) soon to a track near you:
Photo via MBTA
Photo via MBTA
Photo via MBTA
Photo via MBTA
Photo via MBTA
