MBTA, CRRC roll out first pair of Orange Line railcars

Gov. Charlie Baker, MBTA Interim GM Jeffrey Gonneville, and other dignitaries gathered 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 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).

CRRC MA is underway with 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, making its facility a major North American manufacturing hub. CRRC MA’s workforce receives instruction and training on state-of-the-art tools and equipment necessary to build the next generation of new railcars.

All production vehicles will be assembled and tested in the CRRC MA Rail Car Assembly Facility. The vehicles for the MBTA are representative of all the 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 vehicles 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.

The new vehicles 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.