BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board has voted to purchase 39 more bilevel commuter railcars from Hyundai Rotem, bringing to 163 the total number in service or on order.
State House News Service reports the board voted Thursday, Nov. 21, to exercise a $165 million option for the additional cars. The MBTA originally ordered 83 cars in 2019 and exercised an option for 41 more earlier this year [see “MBTA orders 41 additional …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 15, 2024]. All the cars in the original order are slated to be in service by the end of the year.
An MBTA official told the board that when the full 163-car order is on hand, the agency will move to retire the single-level cars in its current fleet.
The cars have seating for up to 179 passengers. Features include accessible restrooms with hands-free faucets, real-time information displays, and USB ports at passenger tables.
Why haven’t they ordered the Stradler electrics that Caltrain has for the Providence-Boston route? I would’ve thought that the environmentally conscious MTBA would use those if they could. An added benefit being that they can use the high-speed track over the route and not max-out at 79mph.
b/c the General Court (state legislature) is all hat, no cattle. The General Court bloviating that the entire suburban system should be electrified (and actually having REQUIRED that the proposed Stoughton – Taunton rebuild to be electrified) …. but MBTA can’t or won’t run electric trains where the wires actually exist.
Long before electrification I grew up riding diesel trains on the New Haven Railroad Providence Local, from Sharon to Boston and return. Last September, two months ago, I rode behind a diesel on the MBTA Providence Line from Sharon to Boston and return, which has been electrified for two decades.
Will these cars enable some trains to be one car shorter saving fuel and mileage costs?
Wonder if they would be able to build long distance cars ?
I’ll tell you what my boss told me as I drooled all over the interior of an under construction regional coach pondering the possibilities for long-distance outfitting: “We will build whatever the customer wants.” That said, these cars are being built 100% in Korea and funded directly by the Commonwealth. Factor that in.
Good to see Hyundai bounce back.