MBTA Unveils Prototype of New Orange Line Cars

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority yesterday unveiled images of a new prototype Orange Line subway car due to be brought into service starting in January 2019 to replace decades-old rail cars.

Chinese-owned rail company CRRC MA Corp. will manufacture 152 Orange Line and 123 Red Line cars at a new $85 million Springfield factory under a $728.9 million contract.

Replacing the cars is part of a planned overhaul of the two lines that includes improvements to aging tracks, signals and other infrastructure.

The two-thirds-scale mock-up of the new Orange Line car will be shipped here from China within seven weeks.