Local
MBTA pushes Red Line fleet completion beyond 2027, with new schedule still pending
The MBTA says it will not receive all 252 new Red Line cars by 2027, the latest setback in a roughly $1 billion contract with China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation. The agency has not set a replacement deadline and expects to provide an update this winter.
The MBTA will miss its 2027 target for receiving all 252 new Red Line cars, transit officials said Thursday, extending a long-running delivery delay with no new completion date yet in sight.
The agency still expects 184 cars under its roughly $1 billion contract with China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, or CRRC. As of July, 68 had been delivered, according to a presentation made Thursday to the MBTA’s audit and finance subcommittee.
MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said the agency expects to share an updated timeline this winter. Officials did not provide a new date for when the remaining cars will arrive.
The project has faced repeated delays. Transit officials have also cited the prolonged federal seizure of new car shells as a complicating factor.
The missed deadline leaves riders without a firm timetable for the complete replacement fleet. The MBTA had previously expected to receive all the cars by 2027; the latest announcement means that target will not be met.