Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles (2018)

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47 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is a state agency providing several diff erent modes of public transportation services to a 3,200-square-mile area, which includes eastern Massachusetts and the greater Boston metropolitan region. MBTA is the fi fth largest transit system in the United States (after New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.). MBTA commuter rail service is provided on 14 lines: fi ve in the north service area into North Station and nine in the south service area into South Station. The longest lines—to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and to Wickford Junction, Rhode Island—are 50 miles and 64 miles long, respectively. The shortest line, the Fairmount Line, is about 12 miles long. Keolis Commuter Services (KCS) performs dispatching for the north lines from an MBTA-owned facility in Somerville, Massachusetts, known as Cobble Hill. Amtrak (Attleboro/Providence Line) and KCS (all other south lines) perform dispatching for the south lines; dispatchers from both agencies sit side by side in the Amtrak Centralized Electrifi cation Traffi c Control Center at the MBTA-owned South Station. MBTA owns over 500 pieces of commuter rail rolling stock, including passenger locomotives, utility locomotives, work train equipment (such as fl at cars and hopper cars), snow plows, single-level and multi-level coaches, and cab cars. Running maintenance and special work are performed at the Service and Inspection Facility near South Station, and at the Readville Interim Repair Facility in Hyde Park in Boston. Heavy maintenance on trains is performed at the Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (at the former Boston Engine Terminal site) in Somerville. MBTA owns virtually all rail infrastructure over which its trains operate, including the Northeast Corridor from South Station to the Massachusetts– Rhode Island state line. From that point through Providence to Wickford Junction, Rhode Island (about 30 miles), MBTA trains operate on Amtrak’s rail line. HISTORY B&M fi led a petition to discontinue all passenger rail service. MBTA signed a 1-year service agreement with B&M to operate commuter rail north and west of Boston (north service). The agreement renewed annually for 12 years. MBTA purchased the lines and rolling stock used in commuter rail service south and west of Boston from the bankrupt PC. Penn Central Transportation Company (PC) successor Conrail became the operator of the south service. 1964 1972 1976 1977 1987 2014 2002 – 2003 2013 – 2014 1982 MBTA purchased the rail lines and rolling stock used for commuter rail north and west of Boston from the bankrupt B&M. MBTA then contracted with B&M to continue service under a 5-year operating agreement. MBTA terminated Conrail as the south service operator and contracted with B&M, the single contract provider for commuter rail. A single 5-year operating agreement between MBTA and B&M replaced the separate north and south service agreements. Amtrak won a competitive procurement to become the sole commuter rail service provider, replacing B&M. MBCR won a competitive procurement to operate MBTA commuter rail, taking over from Amtrak. MBTA completed acquisition of the remaining part of the Worcester Line still owned by Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) successor CSX. MBTA now owns all lines over which its trains operate, except one segment in Rhode Island, owned by Amtrak. KCS won a competitive procurement to operate MBTA commuter rail, taking over from MBCR. MBTA Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Boston, MA

48 Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles PERFORMANCE STATISTICS Past Trends 2012–2016 Service Data in RY* 2016 Data source: NTD *Report year: for each report year, the National Transit Database (NTD) collects data refl ecting the reporter’s operation in the same fi scal year. Annual Operating Cost: $403,654,786 Total Directional Route Miles: 776 Passenger Car Revenue Miles: 23,532,668 Unlinked Passenger Trips: 33,830,904 Annual Total Passenger Miles: 697,963,284 Operating Cost per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Operating Cost per Passenger Passenger Trips per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Passenger Miles per Passenger Trip $17.15 $18.45 $16.33$15.92 $14.17 20162015201420132012 $11.93$12.31 $10.81 $9.97 $8.93 20162015201420132012 1.441.501.51 1.601.59 20162015201420132012 20.6320.6320.4720.7120.22 20162015201420132012 The Federal Railroad Administration regulates and monitors all compliance for required plans and programs for the MBTA commuter rail service. MBTA oversees and monitors the contractor’s performance as stipulated by provisions in the contract. The MBTA Railroad Operations Department represents approximately 50 full-time positions dedicated to overseeing the daily operations of commuter rail service and monitoring the contractor’s performance. Included in the 50 positions, MBTA employs contract compliance offi cers who perform fi eld inspections and audits of every aspect of the services that KCS furnishes. The penalty regime is extensive, and penalties can be assessed up to 5% of the annual operating budget. There are no fi nancial incentives. KCS is the only contractor for MBTA commuter rail service, and KCS has limited interface with other contractors to MBTA. However, KCS must permit and support other MBTA contractors, such as the positive train control (PTC) system provider (Ansaldo STS), to work on the service property. MBTA contracted with KCS, a subsidiary of the largest private-sector French transport group, Keolis SA, to provide commuter rail services in 2014. The contract is fully bundled and has an 8-year base term, which can be extended up to 12 years. Under the contract, KCS is obligated to provide services to 500 trains per day in the eastern Massachusetts and northern/ central Rhode Island region. This commuter rail contract is considered the largest contract of its type in North America based on annual operating expenses. KCS is the fourth contractor for fully bundled MBTA commuter rail service. Past contractors have been the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1977, Amtrak in 1987, and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) in 2003. The “History” section off ers more information. A seven-member board of directors, appointed by the governor of the commonwealth, governs MBTA. The board also has responsibility for governance of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and includes the secretary of transportation as one of its members. Commuter rail is one of several transit modes MBTA operates. Other modes include heavy rail (Boston has the nation’s oldest subway system), light rail, bus, ferry boat, and paratransit. Of the fi xed guideway services, only commuter rail uses contracted service delivery. Rail freight service is provided along many commuter rail lines by agreement with private railroad corporations. Carriers include the Providence and Worcester Railroad, CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSX), Pan Am Railways, and the Grafton and Upton Railroad. Since MBTA started subsidizing commuter rail service in 1964, the service has been provided by an external entity, either a host railroad or an independent contractor. CONTRACTED SERVICE GOVERNANCE Oversight and Responsibilies General Contracted Service Informaon

MBTA 49 Notes for Matrix: 1. MBTA and KCS personnel jointly staff ticket offi ces at outlets. KCS train crew personnel handle ticketing on trains. A—Agency; B—Host Railroad (RR); C—Amtrak; D—Independent Contractors (RR or Non-RR) The matrix below illustrates the responsibility for major service functions for MBTA. The capital letters A, C, and D represent the MBTA in-house staff, Amtrak, and the independent contractor (KCS), respectively. In this case, B for the host railroad is not applicable. Contracted Service Matrix A B C D Train Operations Maintenance of Infrastructure Maintenance of Equipment Specifi cally: Train Dispatching Services Train Operations Maintenance of Equipment Facilities Maintenance Maintenance of Way Provision of Electric Traction (na) Signals and Communication Positive Train Control Maintenance Station Operations and Maintenance Non-revenue Equipment Provision Safety Management Security Services Environmental Services Management/Oversight Services Materials Management Services Risk Management Assessment Customer Service Functions Marketing Communications Ticketing/Sales (1) Revenue Collection Information Technology Systems Accident/Fatality Investigations/Support Supplemental Work Other (na)