BOSTON — Keolis Commuter Services, contract operator of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, has announced plans to release a Request for Proposals for battery-electric rolling stock later this year.
The new equipment will be used on the commuter system’s Fairmount Line under a plan proposed by Keolis last year and approved by the MBTA board in July [see “MBTA approves plan for battery-electric commuter service …,” Trains News Wire, July 25, 2024]. The plan would see service on the nine-station, 9.2-mile Fairmount line increased from the current levels of diesel-powered service (every 45 minutes on weekdays and every 90 minutes on weekends) to 20-minute intervals on weekdays and 30-minute intervals on weekends. It gives Keolis the right to develop the specifications for the equipment and choose the manufacturer.
Keolis says it will seek “modern multiple-unit type” equipment “capable of operating under the overhead catenary system and via use of on-board batteries,” and anticipates the RFP will be released in December. Expressions of interest should be made to Michelle.Berry@keoliscs.com.
Keolis is in its 10th year operating and maintaining the MBTA commuter rail system.
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