MBTA Rail Cars to Be Built in Springfield
.jpg) An artists illustration from PEDA's efforts to position Pittsfield and the Berkshires in the MBTA rail car bidding. The contract was awarded to a company that had already selected Springfield as its base. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Springfield will be the beneficiary of a half-billion dollar rail car contract that's expected to generate 150 to 300 jobs over the next decade.
Gov. Deval Patrick is expected on Tuesday to announce CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles as the winner of a $566,600,000 contract to build Red and Orange Line cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.
The Republican reports that the governor is scheduled to announce the contract on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at CNR's planned location at the former Westinghouse plant on Page Boulevard in Springfield.
The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority had worked with the city of Pittsfield and local lenders to induce one of the competing manufacturers for the $1.5 billion project to the Berkshires. Pittsfield and PEDA had earmarked up to $2 million incentives and Berkshire Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Mountain One, and Pittsfield Cooperative Bank agreed to pool funding and incentives for a Berkshires location.
PEDA and 1Berkshires officials had also taken bidders on a tour of several potential locations at the William Stanley Business Park and in Dalton and Lee.
Last week, PEDA officials were still hoping to land the contract. "We do have a favorite in the race," PEDA Chairman Maurice "Mick" Callahan had said, although declining to name the company.
Mayor Daniel Bianchi said on Monday night that the city and PEDA had not been working with CNR regarding the contract. He was not aware of the governor's planned announcement.
CNR and Hyundai Rotem had both indicated they would locate in Springfield; also in the running were Kawasaki Rail Car, Alstom Transport, Bombardier and Constucciones y Auxillar de Ferrocarriles.
Patrick had indicated from the start that he wanted the winning bidder to locate in Western Mass.
PEDA officials had acknowledged Springfield was an attractive site for bidders but believe the spillover of the decadelong contract will help local business. They have developed a list of companies that manufacture components that could be used in the building of railcars to help whoever got the contract — wherever it was located — find the right suppliers.
The mayor believes that while the city may not host the work, local companies will benefit in the end.
"There are a lot of companies in the Western Mass area that supply the transportation industry, including the rail industry. So there will be a huge benefit to companies in this area," Bianchi said.
The companies bidding on the contract were also preparing supply contracts.
"I think they worked with a number of companies in the area," the mayor said of CNR but added that he doesn't know the specifics of the contracts.
The MBTA is planning to purchase some 226 cars, with the possibility of ordering nearly 60 more.
Tags: manufacturing, MBTA, PEDA, rail, rail car,
