Veolia Transportation Inc. (Veolia) announced on Jan. 8 that the board of directors of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) had unanimously approved a two-year renewal of its Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company's (MBCR) Boston commuter rail contract.
MBCR is a consortium comprising Veolia Transportation, Alternate Concepts Inc. and Bombardier Transit Corporation that operates the commuter rail network on behalf of the MBTA. Veolia Transportation is the majority member of MBCR, which is responsible for operations and workforce management, maintenance of equipment and infrastructure, dispatch and customer service.
MBCR assumed operations of the commuter railroad in July 2003 under a five-year contract that was extended three years in July 2008 to June 2011, and now extended again to June 2013, under the contract's option provisions.
"We are extremely proud of the work we have done as the MBTA's partner, and we are honored to have earned the Board's confidence in our performance," said Rich Davey, general manager, MBCR. "At Wednesday's board meeting the MBTA staff noted that together we have achieved significant improvements in on-time performance, availability of air-conditioning, customer service and rider satisfaction."
MBCR employs 1,800 people and operates 480 trains each day along a 650-mile system.