MBTA Awards $17.9 Million Contract; Red, Orange Line Upgrades Coming

BOSTON, MA – A $17.9 million contract is coming down the pike, targeted toward improving infrastructure on the MBTA's Red and Orange Lines before its respectively 44- and 32-year-old fleets of train cars are replaced.

The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board awarded the construction contract Monday to J.F. White Contracting Co., the low bidder, according to the MBTA.

The contract covers improved and expanded infrastructure at the T’s Wellington maintenance and storage yard in Medford. Workers will also replace train tracks, modify track turnouts and improve traction power and signal infrastructure.

The work is being done to handle the delivery of new Orange and Red Line cars being built in Springfield.

A prototype of the new Orange Line look was recently unveiled through MBTA documents.

The track work will provide additional vehicle storage to support the expanded fleet of Orange and Red Line vehicles, which will grow by 132 subway cars on the Red Line and 152 on the Orange. The first cars are scheduled to be delivered in March 2018.

These additional vehicles will increase line capacity and decrease passenger wait times, cutting the intervals between trains from 5-6 minutes to 4 minutes during rush hours, according to the MBTA.

Per the MBTA, the work at Wellington entails:

• Replacement and new construction of storage tracks
• Modifications to track turnouts
• Traction power and signal infrastructure improvements for tracks

Photo by Patch staff