Funds Pledged for High Speed

February 2017

The MBTA announced on February 27, 2017, that $7.9 million has been allocated to overhaul the Mattapan-Ashmont High Speed line PCC trolleys to keep them running at least into the early 2020s.

According to the Boston Globe, the T announced that work to be done to the 70-year old trolleys includes new propulsion, brakes, and power supply systems.

The vintage trolleys are “essential to the character of our communities,’’ state Representative Dan Cullinane, a Democrat whose district includes part of the line, said at the MBTA’s fiscal and management control board’s weekly meeting. “This is a big win for all those who rely on and support the Mattapan high-speed line.’’

“With this investment, we feel relatively confident that this will get us out to the early 2020s, and give us enough time to do the due diligence study to make the right decision on the future of the line,’’ MBTA chief operating officer Jeffrey Gonneville told the Globe.

In December of 2016, the MBTA awarded a $1.1 million contract to the engineering firm CH2M Hill to study the line’s longer term future, laying out options for vehicles and infrastructure on the line within the year.