‘It’s important I spend it in the right place’

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s new general manager, Philip Eng, got handshakes from lawmakers and told them he’s already made improvements to the transit system. “The system is safe to use, but we can, and we will, strive to do better,” Eng told lawmakers. After a series of accidents and breakdowns, including a Green Line trolley derailment just two weeks ago, lawmakers wanted to know why out of the $378 million they’ve approved for improvements to the T, less than 30% has been spent so far. “As important as it is to spend it all quickly, it’s important that I make sure that I spend in the right places,” Eng said. “So that’s one of the reasons that we’re taking a measured approach in how we do this.”Lawmakers also wanted to know why out of the 252 new MBTA Red Line cars ordered from a factory in Springfield, only 12 have been delivered.”Over the last three months, we have seen consistently now they are producing four cars per month, which is better than they were back in January,” Eng said. Eng says he’s hiring workers as fast as he can, but even more are leaving. He says his biggest challenge is lifting the slow zone restrictions, which currently affect about 22% of the system. After the hearing, Eng acknowledged the difficulties he faces but promised not to let up.”So it really is a matter of, you know, 24/7, around the clock, until we hit those goals,” Eng said. The Federal Transit Administration, which last year issued a scathing report about the MBTA, was invited to attend Monday’s hearing but declined.