# MBTA CAF USA Type 10

The Type 10 LRV is a future class of low-floor light rail vehicles, to be manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for the MBTA Green Line in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The Type 10 cars are 54% longer than the existing rolling stock of the Green Line, and will be equipped with new safety and accessibility features.
The MBTA ordered 102 Type 10 cars in late 2022, at a cost of $810 million. The cars are expected to enter service in 2027, and will replace the Type 7 and Type 8 cars. The MBTA is marketing the Type 10 as "supercars" due to their longer length and 100% low-floor design.$^{:5}$

## Background

The Green Line is a light rail system in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, serving the city's western and northern inner suburbs via Downtown Boston. The Green Line's four services, the B, C, D, and E Branches, use infrastructure that is descended from the Boston streetcar system, with portions of the system dating back to 1897. The Green Line is one of the most-used light rail systems in the United States, serving over 101,000 passengers per day in 2023.
The Green Line's infrastructure and capacity are limited by the system's origins as a streetcar system. A segment of the E Branch on Huntington Avenue still uses street running in mixed traffic, and the system's storage facilities are direct descendants of historic car barns. Terminal stations and storage facilities feature small balloon loops for turning around trains, which constrain the physical dimensions of Green Line cars. At stations outside the central subway, passengers board through the front door of trains and pay the operator, slowing down boarding compared to peer systems. Multiple-car trains have an operator in each car, a rarity among modern light rail systems.
The Green Line Extension and the ongoing Green Line Transformation Project have offered the opportunity to address some of the infrastructure limitations of the Green Line. The Green Line Extension project removed the sharpest curve in the system, the 42 ft (13 m) radius loop at Lechmere station. During the Green Line Extension construction, the Lechmere Viaduct was reinforced to carry heavier trains, removing a weight limit that served as a major bottleneck in the system.$^{:13}$
To operate service on the Green Line Extension, the MBTA ordered 24 Type 9 cars from the American branch of Spanish firm Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. The order was placed in 2014, and the cars began service in late 2018, ahead of the 2022 opening of the Green Line Extension. The MBTA was satisfied with the Type 9 cars, which were of a similar design to the previous Type 8 cars, but it sought a different design for its next fleet of Green Line cars.$^{:7}$

## Concepts

The MBTA considered 7 concepts for new Green Line cars in a 2018 study, taking into account future modifications to the system's sharp curves and weight restrictions. All of the concepts proposed a longer vehicle than the current Type 8/9 cars, with lengths ranging from 100 to 131 ft (30 to 40 m). The MBTA's final concept for the new cars was a 114-foot (35 m) articulated low-floor light rail vehicle made up of 7 segments, riding on 4 trucks, and equipped with 5 sliding doors on each side.$^{:30–35}$
To operate the concept light rail vehicles, the MBTA found that infrastructure modifications would be required at multiple locations in the Green Line system. In addition to the already-planned work at Lechmere, the Park Street, Boston College, and Heath Street stations would need modifications, and the Lake Street and Reservoir yards would have to be reconfigured. The street running section of the E Branch would need to be converted to private right-of-way, which would also be used by buses.
The design of the Type 10 cars is built around the ongoing project to upgrade the CharlieCard. The upgraded CharlieCard will support proof-of-payment fares, which will allow Green Line operators to stop processing fares. The Type 10 cars incorporate this change into their design, with operators driving the train from an enclosed, full-width cab.
The MBTA followed a best value procurement model for the Type 10 cars, and evaluated proposals from CAF, Siemens Mobility, and Alstom. In August 2022, CAF was selected to build the new cars, at a total cost of $811 million. The purchase price includes 102 cars, 2 simulators for operator training, and a 3-year warranty.$^{:7–9}$

## Features
### Accessibility

The Type 10 is a 100% low-floor design, and 3 of 5 doors on each side will feature a bridge plate for accessible boarding.$^{:5}$ The cars will feature 4 seating areas for wheelchairs and other wheeled mobility devices. Type 10 cars will also be equipped with audio induction loops, which make audio announcements easier to hear for users of hearing aids.

### Fare collection

The Type 10 cars will be equipped with CharlieCard readers at every door, enabling all-door boarding at all Green Line stops. This change will speed up boarding at most Green Line stations, where passengers currently must pay the operator at the front door of the trolley. This change is enabled by the introduction of an upgraded CharlieCard system, which the MBTA expects to fully launch in 2025.

### Information systems

The Type 10 cars will include enhanced passenger information systems. Screens throughout the cars will display upcoming stops, route information, and service changes.

### Safety

The Type 10 cars will be fitted with positive train control equipment, to be used with the future Green Line Train Protection System. The Green Line Train Protection System program has been delayed substantially after the MBTA fired an underperforming contractor in June 2024, and will enter service well after the previous estimate of 2025.

## Prototypes and construction

The Type 10 cars will be built at CAF USA's facility in Elmira, New York. The first prototypes are expected to be completed in 2026, and entry into service is expected in 2027. The MBTA held a contest to determine the color scheme for the Type 10 vehicles in 2023, which selected a green and dark gray design with a white and green stripe.
A full-scale mockup of the Type 10 was displayed in Boston City Hall Plaza on October 29th and 30th, 2024. The full-scale, half-length model includes functioning bridge plates and mockups of passenger information systems, seating, and operator controls.

## Services

The Type 10 cars will be used on all four branches of the Green Line, replacing the Type 7 and Type 8 cars. Initially, Type 10s will operate as single cars, with the option to form two-car trains in the future.$^{:2}$ Some Type 9 cars will continue in service on the Green Line, and others will be reassigned to the Mattapan Line.