Commonwealth Magazine reported this week that an overdue report from an MBTA consultant — which has since been shared with local elected officials —paints a bleak picture for the Mattapan-Ashmont trolley line. The report was authored by engineers from CH2M, a firm that was hired by the MBTA in 2017 to study the trolleys, the tracks and other infrastructure associated with the “high-speed” line.

The report was due early last year, but its release was repeatedly delayed for reasons that have not been fully explained by T officials. On Monday, state Rep. Dan Cullinane — who has been the leading local advocate for the trolley line in recent years — went public with his frustrations. Neither Cullinane nor any of his colleagues who have taken a keen interest in the Mattapan-Ashmont line were briefed on the contents of the report until the online magazine report was published. On Monday, Cullinane released a letter he had authored and sent to Gov. Baker on Dec. 18 that underscored his growing unease with the report’s delays and with what he termed the “uncertainty, skepticism and frustration” among commuters and his constituents.

Cullinane is right to sound the alarm. The fate of the trolley line has been getting short shrift from a state agency that is juggling a leadership change amid the normal pressures of an aging, strained system. The Mattapan-Ashmont leg, in the grand scheme of things, may seem like a relatively low priority to some in the State Transportation Building.

And yet, commitments have been made by the Baker administration and their MBTA counterparts that have not yet been fulfilled. Policy makers— in particular, our elected delegates – need hard data and cold facts on which to base their budgets and long-term planning. The riding public is fond of the 75-year-old trolley fleet that connects Dorchester, Milton, and Mattapan, but sentiment is only one element of sound fiscal and infrastructure decisions. Disseminating the report’s findings in a tardy and piecemeal manner is confusing and does a disservice to the stated intent of the effort.

Cullinane and other officials who have taken an interest in the line’s future have sensibly called for the governor and MBTA leadership to convene a briefing for the political delegation so that all of them can better understand the status of the study, the line and contingencies for the future. This week, an MBTA spokesman told the Reporter that the meetings will take place in “early 2019.”

“In the meantime, workers continue to fully overhaul the existing Presidential Conference Committee trolley cars with new propulsion, brakes, and power support systems,” explained Joe Pesaturo, the T spokesman. “This multi-million dollar investment by the MBTA Control Board will extend the life of the more than 70-year-old vehicles and maintain the historical character of the distinctive orange and cream-colored cars.”

That’s an encouraging response.

Still, one early read of consultant report is that even more studies will be needed to assess, for example, the structural integrity of the bridges along the line— a critical engineering and budgetary item that will not be included in this outside report.

As Cullinane noted in his letter to Baker, his constituency has clearly indicated a preference for this existing trolley service to be improved, but also preserved for the long-term on this key extension of the Red Line. We would like to see the Baker team get focused on expediting this project to that end. Improving communication with the key local leadership will be central to the difficult decisions that lie ahead.

— Bill Forry