Cash-strapped MBTA approves limited capital improvement plan

“We’re talking about what is a very fiscally constrained” capital investment plan, said Tom McGee, board chair.

The agency has previously said it needs at least $25 billion to repair and replace decrepit stations, trains, signals, and other assets, far more than what’s budgeted.

More than $3.8 billion in funding is dedicated to rapid transit investments, including buying new Red and Orange line vehicles and making upgrades to outdated signal equipment on the subway lines to boost the frequency and reliability of service. The budget also allocates more than $2.5 billion for the commuter rail network, with heavy investments in new locomotives and the North Station Draw One Bridge.

Meanwhile, the bus system, which accounts for 40 percent of ridership, gets the least. The plan allocates just over $1.1 billion to buses, including for the implementation of the bus network redesign project to upgrade routes and increase service.

In a presentation, the MBTA advisory board outlined two conflicting realities: the transit agency’s “funding structure is fundamentally incapable” of supporting its capital needs, and “structural reform is imperative.”

A bulk of the funds for the capital budget will come from the agency borrowing against future revenue. The plan is also heavily reliant on federal funding — approximately 70 percent of the federal funds, or $2.8 billion, is unobligated, a worrisome amount with the Trump administration repeatedly promising to slash federal funds.

“Yeah, it’s bad,” said Kane. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

To date, all of the federal grants that the agency has been awarded have come through, “and we will remain working with our regional [federal] office” to keep federal dollars flowing in, said T general manager Phil Eng. He added that some of the funds “have taken a little longer” to arrive because of staffing cuts at the Federal Transit Administration.

“What we’re doing today, stabilizing the infrastructure, is actually the stepping stones and the foundation of all of the other things that we want to do: modernize and electrifying and expanding. Because for us to be able to do those, a lot of these components are essential,” Eng said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers on Beacon Hill are now considering how much money they give the transit agency for its day-to-day operations, including wages and benefits for employees, fuel and supplies, and debt repayment for capital projects.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Senate leaders unveiled a $61.3 billion state budget plan that, combined with other legislation, would offer the beleaguered agency hundreds of millions of dollars less than what Governor Maura Healey and the House have sought to fend off potential service cuts or fare hikes.

Shannon Larson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @shannonlarson98.