MBTA CAF USA Type 9

Type 9 LRV
Type 9 LRV
	#3900, the first Type 9 built, at North Station
	Interior of a Type 9
Stock type	Low-floor light rail vehicle
Manufacturer	CAF USA
Assembly	Elmira, New York
Constructed	2017–2019
Entered service	December 21, 2018
Number built	24
Predecessor	MBTA AnsaldoBreda Type 8, MBTA Kinki Sharyo Type 7
Fleet numbers	3900–3923
Capacity	44 seats; 212 total;
Operators	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Lines served	Green Line
Specifications
Car length	74 ft (23 m)
Width	104 in (260 cm)
Low-floor	70%
Entry	Level
Articulated sections	3
Weight	86,000 lb (39,000 kg)
Electric system(s)	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Current collector(s)	Pantograph
Safety system(s)	Crash energy management
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)

Last updated December 10, 2024

The Type 9 LRV is a class of low-floor light rail vehicles manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for the MBTA Green Line. The fleet of 24 Type 9 cars was ordered in 2014 for the Green Line Extension project, and the first cars began service in 2018. Final assembly for the Type 9 cars was performed in Elmira, New York, from body shells built in Spain.

Background

The Green Line is a light rail system in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, which operates four lines that serve the city's western and northern inner suburbs via Downtown Boston. The Green Line's four services, the B, C, D, and E Branches, use infrastructure that is descended from the Boston streetcar system, with portions of the system dating back to 1897. The Green Line is one of the most-used light rail systems in the United States, serving over 101,000 passengers per day in 2023.^[1]

The state of Massachusetts committed to extending the Green Line in 1991, as part of a settlement related to the impacts of the Big Dig, but construction work on the Green Line Extension did not begin until 2012. To operate service on the 4.3 mi (6.9 km) extension, the MBTA needed 24 additional vehicles.

The MBTA's light rail vehicle types follow the nomenclature of the Boston Elevated Railway, which operated five series of cars. The numbering resumed with the unbuilt Type 6 prototype in the late 1960s, and continued with the custom-designed Type 7 and Type 8 of the 1980s and 1990s respectively.^[2]

History

The MBTA began the procurement process for the Type 9 LRVs in tandem with the planning for the Green Line Extension. The MBTA sought a different manufacturer for the Type 9 than its predecessor the Type 8, which was built by Italian firm AnsaldoBreda. The Type 8 cars were prone to derailments and breakdowns, and were the subject of multiple disputes between AnsaldoBreda and the MBTA. In response to the difficulties faced with the Type 8 fleet, the MBTA revised its procurement practices, focusing on project management by internal staff. The MBTA also committed to providing equipment manufacturers with more precise specifications of its infrastructure, which is unique due to its age and condition.^[3]

A request for proposals for the Type 9 cars was issued in 2011, and two manufacturers placed a bid. In May 2014, CAF USA, the American subsidiary of Spanish firm Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, was selected to construct the new LRVs. The total cost of the 24-car fleet was $118 million, or $4.92 million per car.^[4]^[5] Initially, the new cars would be delivered from the end of 2017 to the end of 2018.^[4] Buy America regulations meant that the bodyshells of the cars were manufactured in Spain, with final assembly at Elmira, New York.^[6]

The first car was delivered to the MBTA for testing in March 2018.^[7] Governor Charlie Baker and Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack took a ceremonial first ride on the Type 9 cars in July of that year, and the cars began regular service on December 21.^[8]^[9] The remaining 23 LRVs were delivered in 2018–2020 and entered service in 2019–2021.^[10] The Green Line Extension opened in phases in 2022, years behind schedule.^[11]

Features and specifications

The Type 9 cars introduce new features for safety, efficiency, and passenger experience. They are the first light rail vehicles in the United States to incorporate crash energy management technology, a form of crumple zone that protects the train operator and passengers in a collision.^[8]^[9] The Type 9 cars are fitted with positive train control equipment, to be used with the future Green Line Train Protection System.^[12]

Accessibility features include improved bridge plates for faster step-free boarding, and larger reserved areas for users of wheelchairs and strollers. The Type 9 cars are fitted with sliding plug doors, which open and close faster than the folding doors of earlier MBTA cars, speeding up boarding.^[7]

The Type 9 cars operate in two-car and three-car trains in regular service. Type 9 cars are only capable of operating with other Type 9 cars in regular service, unlike their predecessors, which are compatible across multiple models. The Type 9 cars are still capable of pushing or towing other car models in an emergency.^[2]

Safety concerns

The Federal Transit Administration conducted a comprehensive safety inspection of the MBTA rail system in 2022, and criticized the MBTA for insufficient safety procedures. The inspection report concluded that the MBTA's understaffed safety department was not properly involved in capital projects, which should be subject to a rigorous safety certification process. The report highlighted the Type 9 cars as an example of this lack of supervision, and criticized the safety certification for the Type 9's brakes as insufficient.^[13]^[14]

On April 17, 2023, the day of the 2023 Boston Marathon, a Type 9 train broke down at Boylston station, disrupting Green Line service through downtown Boston for hours. A misaligned floor panel in the center section of a Type 9 car buckled under load, requiring the train to be evacuated. All Type 9 cars were removed from service for inspections, returning to service shortly afterwards.^[15]

Future

The MBTA currently operates the Type 9 cars on all four branches of the Green Line. Their successors, dubbed the Type 10, will be built by CAF, and will replace the entire Type 7 and Type 8 fleets by the early 2030s.^[16] Following the introduction of the Type 10 cars, the Type 9 cars are expected to be reassigned to the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line. They will replace the Mattapan line's current fleet of PCC streetcars, which were built in the mid-1940s and have been continually rebuilt since.^[17] The infrastructure of the Mattapan line will need to be modified for the Type 9 cars, which are longer and heavier than the PCC cars. The plans for replacing the PCC cars on the Mattapan line have caused controversy, with some figures advocating for the PCC cars to be retained, and others arguing that they are long overdue for replacement.^[18]^[19]

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References

↑ O'Hara, Mary Ann; Turners, Pat (August 22, 2024). "History of Funding Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 2.
1 2 "The MBTA Vehicle Inventory Page". NETransit. July 9, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
↑ LTK Engineering Services (September 2014). "Green Line Type 9 Risks & Lessons Learned". Federal Transit Administration.
1 2 "Board Approves Purchase of New Green Line Cars & Buses" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. May 14, 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
↑ Annear, Steve (May 13, 2014). "New Green Line Trains Will Hit the Tracks By 2017". Boston Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-05-24. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
↑ "CAF wins Boston Green Line order". Railway Gazette International. May 16, 2014. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
1 2 Vaccaro, Adam (March 24, 2018). "First of 24 new Green Line cars has arrived". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2018-03-28.
1 2 Buell, Spencer (December 21, 2018). "The First New MBTA Green Line Train Just Hit the Tracks". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
1 2 "New MBTA Green Line Car goes into Passenger Service". MBTA. December 21, 2018. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
↑ Belcher, Jonathan (January–February 2021). "MBTA Vehicle Inventory as of February 28, 2021". Rollsign. Vol. 58, no. 1/2. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 8, 9.
↑ "MBTA Celebrates Opening of the Green Line Extension Medford Branch" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 12, 2022.
↑ Cawley, Gayla (January 20, 2023). "Green Line anti-collision system won't be done until 2025". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
↑ "SAFETY MANAGEMENT INSPECTION: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities" (PDF). Federal Transit Administration. August 31, 2022. pp. 39–41.
↑ Beaudet, Mike (August 31, 2022). "5 takeaways from federal safety report into MBTA". WCVB . Retrieved 2024-09-05.
↑ "Video shows floor buckling aboard crowded Green Line trolley". WCVB. April 28, 2023. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
↑ Wanek-Libman, Mischa (September 6, 2022). "CAF USA lands MBTA Type 10 'Supercar' order". Mass Transit Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
↑ Bohl, Chloe Courtney (August 31, 2023). "Improvements to the Mattapan Line are finally underway — but riders may not see results for years". Boston.com. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
↑ Forry, Bill (January 30, 2019). "Editorial: The MBTA's trolley plan is a reasonable compromise". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
↑ Bhat, Tanisha (June 28, 2023). "Residents object to transfer of 'hand-me-down' Green Line trains to Mattapan line". The Bay State Banner. Retrieved 2024-09-04.

External links

Media related to CAF Type 9 LRVs at Wikimedia Commons

v t e MBTA light rail vehicles
Retired	PCC streetcar (3000–3346) US Standard Light Rail Vehicle (3400–3543)
Active	Kinki Sharyo Type 7 (3600–3719) AnsaldoBreda Type 8 (3800–3894) CAF USA Type 9 (3900–3923)
Future	Type 10 "Supercar"