(Twitter.com/Gov. Charlie Baker)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Twenty-four new Green Line cars that were ordered by the MBTA as part of the Green Line Extension project have arrived in Boston. It will be a while before the Extension is up and running--but the first of the new train cars will go into service in September, with the rest phased in through next year.
Gov. Charlie Baker stopped by the Riverside MBTA stop Wednesday afternoon to inspect the new cars, which were part of a $118 million investment in the Green Line. The train cars have hard plastic seats, automated ramps for the disabled, and a white monitor light that will count 97 percent of all passengers who walk under it.
"The biggest benefit associated with this is going to be the additional vehicles that could be used to support the travelling public, especially during key busy times," Baker said.
The Governor said the new trains would add fifteen percent passenger capacity at peak ridership times.
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens that the cars are a major upgrade.
"Handicap accessibility on the Green Line has been a problem, and these are low-floor cars which will allow folks to get on and off more easily if they are in a wheelchair or pushing a stroller," she said. "Accessibility is a big priority for the MBTA as we modernize the system."
She said phasing in the new cars will allow the organization to fix some of the older cars and still keep service up.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports