MBTA Not Renewing Keolis Commuter Rail Contract

After the debacle of winter 2015 and repeat ongoing service delays, the Mass. Bay Transit Authority is not planning to renew its contract with the vendor currently operating its commuter rail service, a state official said Thursday.

State Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack told State House News Service the state will not renew its contract with Keolis Commuter Services, set to expire in 2022.

"Our intention would be to begin a re-procurement process so that it could be completed and a transition -- if one were going to even take place -- would happen at the end of the current eight-year contract," Pollack told the SHNS.

In separate statement to The Boston Globe, Pollack said, “The decision not to extend the current eight-year contract is not a reflection of Keolis’s performance; indeed, I fully expect that Keolis would compete as part of the re-procurement.”

Keolis' operator contract is the largest in state history, inked in 2014 under former Gov. Deval Patrick's administration. The French rail company replaced the commuter rail's previous vendor, Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. The initial, baseline contract price was $2.68 billion over eight years with the possibility for two two-year extensions, Patch reported at the time.

"Officials said they plan to go back out to bid for a vendor to take over carrying millions of passengers over nearly 400 route miles each year," according to WCVB, which also shared Pollack's comments with SHNS, above.

Read more from WCVB here.

Previously:

• Keolis Wins MBTA Commuter Rail Contract, Largest in State History
• MBTA, Keolis Announce Plan to Improve Commuter Rail Service
• Commuter Rail Concerns Raised by Legislators
• Quick Turnaround: Commuter Rail Rep Apologizes for Delays 24 Hours After Griping

Image via Patch archive

Patch updated this story at 8:31 p.m.