Once all the new six car trains are all placed into service, on the Orange Line, an additional 30,000 riders per day can be accommodated, according to the MBTA which officially commission the first cars in August.
“The first cars put into service is an important milestone in our administration’s work to deliver a modern, reliable and safe transportation,†Gov. Charlie Baker said.
Over the next several years, the MBTA is expected to significantly increase daily capacity access for people using the Red and Orange Lines, “giving more options for getting we have the need to go,†the governor added.
Reportedly, the new cars will provide customers with a more comfortable and accessible ride. “Signal and infrastructure upgrades will be made to support the new vehicles,†according to Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.
“When the entire Orange Line fleet is preplace, it will carry more passages per hour than ever before and there will be shorter times between trains and customers will have more confidence that they can depend on the public transportation system to get them where they need to go,†according to Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack.
The Administration feels that these new cars are tangible signs of progress toward building a better MBTA using a part of the $8 billion, five-year capital investment plan to completely rebuild the Orange Line.
The new Orange Line cars incorporate a variety of new features that improve reliability, maintainability, communications, safety, and comfort. They include more spacious interiors, LED lighting, automatic passenger counters, closed-circuit cameras and video recording, and onboard diagnostics for operators and maintenance staff. The new vehicles also feature various accessibility improvements, including wider door openings, gap mitigation devices, additional passenger emergency intercoms, more handrails, for accessible access locations per car (two more than current cars), and modern audio and visual passenger information.