In Thursday’s announcement, the T said its assets are deteriorating much faster than government agencies can renew them. Overall, approximately 64 percent of Company T’s total assets currently need to be updated.
Trains and stations that are not in so-called “good repair” have higher operating and maintenance costs and are at higher risk of breakdown, T said. However, authorities stressed that these assets are still safe.
The analysis found that the T’s heavy rail system (Red, Orange and Blue Lines) had the highest repair costs at $9.9 billion, with most of the investment needed to upgrade bridges, tunnels and power systems.
The next most expensive system is the commuter rail system, which requires the bulk of the station investment, at about $8 billion, followed by the Tees light rail system (Green Line), which requires $4.7 billion, according to the analysis.
“Restoring reliability and ensuring safety are our top priorities as we rebuild the MBTA infrastructure,” General Manager Philip Eng said in a statement. “Understanding and recognizing the significant resources required to return systems to a state of good repair is just one step in fixing infrastructure to provide more robust and frequent service,” he said. .”
The $24.5 billion T needs is based on its 2021 asset position, the agency said, and the last estimate the agency provided in 2019, as T now has a more accurate view of its assets. He said it is much higher than that. The agency said the previous inventory did not include certain cables, overhead lines, the South Boston Generating Station, emergency generators or high-voltage yards.
The estimates also take into account “significant increases in infrastructure and construction costs due to inflation and supply chain challenges,” the agency said. T prepares this capital needs assessment every three to four years.
The analysis found that T’s subway tracks are most in urgent need of repair, 89 percent of which are in poor repair, followed by T’s commuter rail signals (80 percent of which require updates) and power systems. 76 percent of them need to be updated.
The analysis found that about half of Company T’s subways and buses needed updating.
Mr. T’s analysis is not surprising. For nearly 15 years, outside experts have repeatedly warned that authorities are not investing enough in maintaining and upgrading infrastructure. Most recently, the Federal Transit Administration’s safety inspection of the T Line last year found that the agency largely abandoned repairs to sections of the track, choosing instead to slow trains for years with dangerous defects. , it was revealed that a Green Line work train that was being used for maintenance was left out of service. For at least 8 months.
Thursday’s announcement did not include a plan for how the state would fund the renovations. And the actual cost could be even higher, officials said.
The T’s five-year, $9.7 billion spending plan, approved by the agency’s board of directors last summer, was the first of the plans developed by the Healey administration, but was not requested by the T’s staff at the time. The amount of new funding it received fell short. The plan would provide just $1.5 billion in new funding for reliability and modernization efforts, far short of his $9.2 billion in new funding that his staff had sought.
Most of that would be paid for with federal funds and borrowings.
The MBTA relies on its operating revenues to service its five-year spending plan debt. This revenue primarily consists of sales tax revenue, freight, fees paid by local governments, and assistance from Congress.
That income must also pay for daily expenses such as wages, benefits, and fuel. T expects its operating budget could be short by up to $139 million in fiscal year 2025, which begins next summer. $475 million the following year.according to T’s presentation to the board earlier this year.
The analysis released Thursday expands on what was already known: the MBTA’s financial needs far exceed available funds.
State Sen. Brendan Crichton, D-Lynn, and co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation, said he applauds T.’s honesty about how great the need is.
“There were a lot of people who wanted to bury their heads in the sand for a long time,” he says.
Carissa Hand, a spokeswoman for Gov. Maura Healey, said the report “confirms what we’ve known for years: Significant resources and effort are urgently needed across the MBTA system due to decades of underinvestment.” It shows that.” The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to ensuring the MBTA has the resources it needs to provide the safe and reliable service Massachusetts residents deserve. ”
Taylor Dolven can be reached at taylor.dolven@globe.com.follow her @taydolven. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com.follow her @lauracrimaldi.