First Pair of MBTA Orange Line Cars Complete

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Charlie Baker and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno joined MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack, MBTA interim General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville, and CRRC MA Chairman and President Jia Bo on Tuesday at CRRC MA’s manufacturing facility to mark the on-time completion of the first pair of Orange Line vehicles, a significant milestone in the delivery of new subway cars to the MBTA.

“Since taking office, our administration has prioritized improving the core infrastructure of the T, and over the next five years, the T is planning to invest $8 billion to continue these efforts,” Baker said. “By completely replacing the fleets of the Orange and Red lines, and significantly upgrading signals, the T will improve reliability for riders, and we are proud to celebrate the delivery of the first new Orange Line cars today.”

CRRC MA has begun manufacturing 404 subway cars for the MBTA, including 152 new Orange Line and 252 Red Line vehicles. Located in Springfield, CRRC MA employs approximately 200 people. Its workforce receives instruction and training on state-of-the-art tools and equipment necessary to build the next generation of new rail cars.

“Our pride is strong as we deliver on time to America’s first transit system CRRC’s first subway cars built in the United States by talented workers standing with us today,” Jia said. “We have taken the importance of transportation in the region as a path to introduce local rail-car manufacturing where hundreds of jobs have been created, stimulating the local economy. Our achievements prove the existence of well-nourished partnerships born from mutual cooperation and respect. We look forward to building CRRC’s presence in the United States using our journey here in Massachusetts as the footprint to success.”

The vehicles for the MBTA are representative of modern workmanship, materials, and technologies that form the basis of the design standards for modern-day heavy rail vehicles. The safety and customer amenities include stainless-steel car shells that incorporate laser-welding technology for better exterior finish, crash energy management for enhanced customer and operator safety, LCD monitors for customer information, and train-to-wayside communications via a wireless network for monitoring and detection of potential maintenance needs. All production vehicles will be manufactured and tested in the Springfield facility.

The new vehicles also incorporate designs that accommodate improved passenger comfort, new technology that provides important customer-facing information, and cutting-edge accessibility features, such as platform gap-mitigation devices.