Letter to the Editor: To the T: New Red Line cars should be distributed equally between the branches

While it is great to read about next spring’s beginning of the rollout of the new cars (Page One, 11/14), I’m wondering if this will be similar to that of the last rollout of new cars, when for many months (years?) the majority of new cars were on the Braintree branch and not on the Ashmont branch. At the time I was working in Cambridge, with a twice-daily run between Ashmont and Cambridge, and I recall my and fellow Ashmont passengers’ frustration at seeing numerous new-car trains on the Braintree branch while Ashmont riders were stuck with the old — and then, very old — cars. Let’s hope that T officials will be bring more equality of distribution of these new cars between the two Red Line branches. 

Lee Ridgway 
Ashmont Hill

Editor’s Note: The Reporter asked MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak to respond to this letter. His answer: “New Red Line cars, when available, will run on both lines from the beginning.  Deployment will be on the basis of need (and thus have an element of randomness) so I cannot guarantee precisely equal deployment but riders on both lines will get to use the vehicles regularly.  On the other hand, testing will be on basis of where appropriate track is available (and free of work crews), so that will vary.”