J.F. White Contracting awarded MBTA maintenance contract

Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
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J.F. White Contracting Co.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board has awarded J.F. White Contracting Co. a $17.9 million construction contract to support infrastructure improvements on the system’s Red and Orange lines.  

 

The contract with J.F. White will cover revamped and expanded infrastructure at its Wellington maintenance and storage yard in Medford, Mass. Crews are scheduled to replace train tracks, adjust track turnouts and improve traction power and signal infrastructure.

The work is intended to better manage the delivery of new cars for the system’s Orange and Red lines, and representatives say the new cars will be built in Springfield. Representatives say the new vehicles are needed to replace the MBTA’s current Orange Line cars, which are 32-years-old, as well as the 44-year-old Red Line cars.

A new factory under construction in Springfield, Mass., is set to deliver  284 train cars: 152 for the Orange Line and 132 for the Red Line. The first group of cars is scheduled for delivery in March of 2018.

The track work aims to provide added vehicle storage to support the expanded fleet of vehicles for the Orange and Red lines.

 

The work at Wellington also includes:

  • Replacing old storage tracks and building new ones
  • Modifications to track turnouts
  • Traction power and signal infrastructure improvements for tracks

 

The added vehicles are intended to increase line capacity and minimize passenger wait times, decreasing the intervals between trains from 5-6 minutes to 4 minutes during rush hours.

The vehicle procurement program is part of a broader effort that includes infrastructure improvements, signal upgrades and continued state of good repair projects. The MBTA is also continuing efforts to accelerate MBTA spending repair and other capital projects to improve the system’s safety and reliability.

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