The Fairmount Line isn’t expected to run trains powered by electricity instead of diesel for several years, but officials are so excited about the now-concrete plans for more frequent service and less pollution that they gathered in the hot sun Tuesday morning to celebrate an achievement that likely won’t be achieved until 2028.
The MBTA on July 25 agreed to a $54 million contract with Keolis, the company that operates the MBTA’s commuter trains, to add battery-electric service to the Fairmount Line, which runs from South Station through Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park.
“I can’t wait for it to be done,” said Marilyn Forman, co-chair of the Fairmount Indigo Transit Coalition who works in housing at the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, at a news conference at the Morton Street Station in Mattapan on Tuesday. “But we have so much more to do, and maybe, just maybe, it will happen before 2028 because we’re working with some great people.”
Governor Maura Healey, who is busy with myriad priorities in the legislature, promised that the state would go “full steam ahead” with the project. The idea has been “talked about for years,” the governor said, “but we’re doing it, we’re finally doing it.”
The nine-station Fairmount Line runs through areas with higher air pollution, and ridership has more than doubled from pre-pandemic numbers, according to Keolis. The line’s popularity, its relatively short length and its proximity to electric infrastructure have helped make it well suited to battery-electric operation, Keolis said.
“We decided to submit an innovation proposal because we have the skills and knowledge to implement this project quickly and efficiently,” said John Killeen, Vice President of Asset Management at Keolis. “Keolis will manage this project, including raising finance, selecting rolling stock and upgrading technical equipment, infrastructure and maintenance facilities. We will bring our international skills and expertise to ensure this project is a success.”
Fairmount Line trains currently run every 30 minutes, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said, and plans are for trains to arrive every 20 minutes after the line is electrified. He said transportation accounts for 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts, and the T is responsible for 1 percent of those emissions. The project will reduce fuel consumption by 1.6 million gallons per year, he said.
Areas along the T’s Providence Line have electrification potential, Eng said, and electrification is being explored in an environmental corridor on the Newburyport-Rockport line.
“This is just the beginning. This is a glimpse into the future, but we are getting it in our lifetime,” Eng said. He added: “The technology is getting better and better, so we know that this technology works in other parts of the world. The key is how we can make it work for us here.”
As Fairmount nears completion, becoming the first fully electrified commuter rail line in Massachusetts, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the project will electrify “one of the last remaining diesel commuter rail lines in the country.”
“It’s not just about saying we’re a green community,” Wu said. “It’s about tangible benefits that our residents who live here, the workers who come to work, the visitors and tourists and everyone we welcome into our community can feel every day.”
Senator Liz Miranda said she was encouraged by the promise of more frequent service on the “Purple Line,” as it is known in the areas it serves. She said every resident of the state has a right to access safe, reliable transportation and recalled years earlier in her life when she didn’t want to ride the Fairmount Line because it “was scary, took too long and was dirty.”
“Growing up, I preferred taking two buses and a train, the speed that the Fairmount Line, the Purple Line, used to have, and now we don’t have to wait for two buses and a train,” Miranda said. “We can actually take the commuter rail and the Fairmount Line all the way downtown and not only do we have to wait 20 minutes, but we get downtown faster so we can get to work or school.”
Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley thanked Senator Nick Collins, former Reps. Linda Dorcena Forry and Jack Hart, and community members for creating three new stations on the line in 2013 and another in 2019 and for saying, “no, you all need to stop and give us a ride.”
“Without history, people perish,” Fluker Oakley said. “You all need to understand that this train was regularly traveling through our black community and not stopping to give us a lift. You need to think about that – a diesel train traveling through a predominantly black and brown community with no intention of even giving us a lift so we could go to work.”
The state calls battery-powered electric multiple units BEMUs and says they use hybrid propulsion with a built-in battery that is charged when overhead wires are available, such as at South Station. The trains can then run on battery power, creating less air pollution and using less energy, and giving passengers a smoother ride, more space and quieter service, the state said.
The MBTA has been hurt over the years by contractors failing to deliver their new trains on time.
“We’re really aware of what we’re getting into when we sign these contracts,” Healey told reporters after Tuesday’s press conference when asked about the expected electric trains. “I demand, I want to demand accountability from everybody, you know, it’s taxpayer money. I demand that in our contracts. I demand that, that accountability. You can’t play with us if you can’t deliver. It’s as simple as that. And you know, I trust the contracts that we have now and we’re going to continue to stick with them as a team to get this done.”
