Green Line Cars To Get A Futuristic Redesign: MBTA

BOSTON, MA — Welcome to the future. The MBTA announced it has plans to develop a longer Green Line train that can carry more passengers as a way to double capacity, update old infrastructure and make the train line more accessible and efficient.

MBTA officials told the Fiscal and Management Control Board Monday that if everything went as planned, new trains would start arriving in 2028 for the estimated $3.5 billion Green Line update project.

Some $1 billion is already accounted for in the current funding plan, but the MBTA will still have to figure out how to get the rest of the funds in the coming years. They'll also face the same challenges the T has always faced when it comes to updating the Green Line: old infrastructure from the tight curves to space allotted for the cars to pass one another.

MBTA officials said the project will be similar to the Red and Orange Line projects in that they will increase the number of people who can take the T throughout the next few years. Currently the Green Line can fit between 200,000 and 250,000 people but that number could nearly double to 450,000 if all goes to plan.

And the plan includes making some significant changes to the Green Line, including the lengthening of a number of station platforms and smoothing out some of the sharper turns.

The recommended new train will be be 112 ft long and divided into seven sections, compared with the 74 ft long two section Green Line train cars we know. Because the layout of the new cars is different, it can carry the same number of passengers as one of the old cars. They'll also be low to the ground making them ADA accessible at all doors and without steps. Seats will be against the walls, as they are on the Red and Orange Lines and more similar to New York City subway cars.

A new fare collection system happening in tandem will allow boarding at all doors and eliminate the need for drivers to collect fares. MBTA officials said they plan to hire a program manager for the overall Green Line project within a year.

The project currently consists of four phases. The first phase will cost nearly $1 billion and include improvements to tracks, power systems, and signals over the next five to six years.

Phased Implementation (four phases): Multi-phased program proposed to transform the T into a modern, 100 percent accessible, high capacity car with necessary system and infrastructure improvements.
· Phase I: Currently identified in CIP for FY19-23 will cost approximately $950 million
· Phase II: Procurement of 94 new modern fleet of Green Line vehicles. Cost: As much as $2 billion
· Phase III: Completion of necessary infrastructure changes to operate new trains as two-car units on the D & E Lines. Three platforms lengthened by 2035. Cost: $500 million
· Phase IV – Long-term possibility, completion of infrastructure changes to operate new vehicles as two-car units at 27 B and C Lines stations. Cost: TBD.

Watch the Fiscal and Management Control Board meeting here:

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