MBTA is PO’d At Blue Line Delay
by Aaron Margolis, November 29th, 2006 at 08:26pm
The MBTA is annoyed that they are paying for something they haven’t received yet, reports the Boston Globe.
The MBTA’s plan to replace its aging Blue Line fleet is nearly three years behind schedule because of repeated delays and problems with the first of 94 new cars, including leaking doors and smoking air-conditioning systems.
Yesterday, the T’s top official sent a fiery letter to the manufacturer, Siemens Transportation Systems, demanding a firm schedule for delivery of the new cars and threatening to freeze payments on the $174 million contract.
Siemens had been seeking an $8 million payment, saying it has reached another benchmark on the contract, even though it hasn’t delivered four prototypes. The MBTA has paid $47 million to Siemens in the last five years.
“It appears to me that your company is far more interested in demanding money for work you have not performed, rather than completing the job,” wrote Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
It’s good to know that fares are going up on the T to help pay for things that have not been delivered. At least Grabauskas is doing something about it. Now the MBTA knows a bit of what it feels like to be a Massachusetts taxpayer; paying millions of dollars for something we aren’t getting–or something that was done wrong.
Entry Filed under: MBTA
Similar Posts
