The MBTA's fiscal management board has approved a plan to spend $277 million to replace its entire fleet of Red Line trains, some of which are four decades old.
According to the Boston Herald, the MBTA's Fiscal Management and Control Board voted Monday to approve the purchase of up to 120 new Red Line train cars, in lieu of an earlier plan that called for refurbishing 84 existing cars.
The MBTA said it will be cheaper to buy new cars than to fix up the old ones.
Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack called it "a new day for the MBTA," saying the new trains will reduce wait times and make for more efficient maintenance.
The additional work would be performed by CRRC, which in 2014 was awarded a $565 million contract to build Red Line and Orange Line vehicles at a new plant in Springfield.
"This is a historic day for the MBTA, certainly for our Red Line riders," MBTA Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gonneville said.
The Red Line is one of the T's busiest lines, serving downtown Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Quincy and Braintree.
U.S. & World
The new train cars are not expected to arrive for another six years, the MBTA said Monday.
