Thursday’s vote also marks the start of fulfilling a directive made in 2019 by the T’s board of directors that ordered the agency to begin electrifying the entire commuter rail system and make service dramatically more frequent. The commuter rail system is made up of 13 rail lines stretching as far north as Haverhill and Newburyport, as far west as Worcester and Wachusset, and as far south as Wickford Junction in Rhode Island.
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“When you can do something that the public has been asking for, and find solutions, and then actually fulfill those commitments to them, there’s nothing more rewarding than that,” said General Manager Phillip Eng in an interview. “[I’m] 100 percent confident that we can do this.”
With the T’s $54 million, Keolis will be in charge of leasing new battery-electric trains for the Fairmount Line, designing and overseeing the construction of new overhead wiring on parts of the line, and building a new light maintenance facility for the new trains in Readville. The MBTA expects to spend another $70 million at a later date to fund associated construction contracts for the project.
Mike Muller, the MBTA’s executive director of commuter rail, estimates it will cost the T about $30 million more per year to operate the electric service starting in 2028 when accounting for the train leases. The agency plans to move its diesel trains from the Fairmount Line to other lines in its system, Muller said.
Keolis first submitted its proposal to electrify the Fairmount Line in December, according to Muller. In March, the T published a request for letters of interest from other companies and received three, Muller said. Only one of those companies decided to move forward with a proposal for electrifying the line, and it did not meet the T’s specifications, Muller said. He declined to say which company submitted the losing proposal.
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Two members of the T’s board of directors, Chanda Smart and Charlie Sisitsky, raised concerns about the short contract procurement process and Keolis’s inexperience with a project like this in the US market.
Muller said other companies had an opportunity to submit proposals and the T is confident in Keolis based on its experience managing these kinds of contracts in other countries.
In its proposal to the T, Keolis said it would provide battery electric service on the Fairmount Line with 20-minute weekday and 30-minute weekend frequencies by 2027. Now, the T expects the electric and improved service to start in 2028.
The MBTA improved Fairmount Line frequencies earlier this year, bringing weekday wait times down to 30 minutes and weekend wait times to 30-60 minutes. Since the improvement in service, ridership on the line has increased, Muller said.
Advocates have for years urged the T to provide subway-like frequencies and electric trains on the Fairmount Line, which runs entirely within the city of Boston, from South Station to Readville through communities where most residents are Black and Latino. Emissions from diesel locomotives contain particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen, which have been shown to be harmful to human health, causing illness and premature death.
Increasing train frequencies and electrifying service are also key to reducing carbon emissions, which fuel climate change. First, by making train service faster and more convenient than driving, it can induce more people to get out of their cars, reducing tailpipe emissions. Second, electric trains, particularly when powered by a grid that runs largely on renewable sources such as wind and solar, are far cleaner than diesel trains that emit greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. (Rail emissions do, however, make up a small fraction of the transportation sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.)
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Advocates celebrated the board vote Thursday.
“Keolis’s innovation proposal will make a world of difference to communities along the Fairmount Line with fast, frequent, and reliable service,” said TransitMatters regional rail lead Jackson Moore-Otto in a statement. “It’s the first real step toward Regional Rail and a meaningful down payment on an entirely new Regional Rail system for the Commonwealth.”
Battery electric trains are far less common than electric trains powered by overhead wires, such as on the Green and Blue lines, or by electrified third rail, used on the Red and Orange lines. Battery electric trains are mostly associated with less frequent service because of the charging time needed.
No US transit agencies are using battery electric trains yet. The Bay Area’s Caltrain ordered a single battery electric train last year to test on its newly electrified system, and Metra in Chicago ordered eight two-car battery electric trains in February to be delivered starting in 2027.
“The battery electric technology is being successfully used in Europe today on rail systems, so I know it can work,” Eng said, adding that adopting battery electric trains, instead of trains powered by overhead wires, cuts down on infrastructure costs.
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Muller said the MBTA is interested in testing the battery electric trains on the Providence Line, which already has overhead wire infrastructure used by Amtrak, and the Newburyport/Rockport Line, which, similar to the Fairmount Line, goes through an environmental justice corridor.
“We’re thrilled that our proposal has been approved and that we are able to partner with the MBTA to introduce decarbonized service to the Fairmount line community,” said Abdellah Chajai, chief executive of Keolis Commuter Services, in a statement.
Keolis’s contract with the T to operate and maintain the agency’s commuter rail system expires in June 2027.
Taylor Dolven can be reached at taylor.dolven@globe.com. Follow her @taydolven.
