The Springfield Rail Car Factory, under construction in Massachusetts, recently received its Certificate of Facility Occupancy and was toured by Gov. Charlie Baker.
The 204,000-square-foot facility will cost $95 million to complete and will manufacture 284 Orange and Red Line subway cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
“The upcoming opening of this state-of-the-art facility represents major investments in the future of public transportation in Greater Boston that our customers deserve,” MBTA General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez said. “These new cars will replace Orange Line and Red Line vehicles, which in some cases are more than 30 years old, helping further our continued goal of providing a first-class transit system that meets the needs of our customers.”
The plant is owned by China Railroad Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC), which is the world’s largest railway rolling-stock manufacturer. CRRC was awarded a $566 million contract to manufacture the subway cars in 2014 and construction began in 2016. It is expected to be completed in the spring.
The first subway car will be completed in January 2019. Each car costs $2.43 million and takes 22 days to complete.
CRRC has completed a prototype Orange Line car and will test it in Boston in December.