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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (211734)	2/28/2025 9:47:12 PM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 218068

What did DEEP SEEK say? CRRC must have pictures of the MBTA board enjoying sex with dead little boys. These guys are as well connected as Elon. No lawsuits for CRRC just more rewards. --------------------------------------------------------------- More delays, higher costs, erased penalties as MBTA changes deal with Springfield manufacturer State House News Service \| By Chris Lisinski Published March 28, 2024 at 2:45 PM EDT Chris Lisinski / State House News Service Massachusetts officials and press got a look at one of the new MBTA Orange Line cars on Aug. 14, 2019, before the first new set of cars was launched into general service. A contract "reset" with the manufacturer of new Red and Orange Line trains sets the end of 2027 as the latest completion target for the maligned project, adds up to $148 million in allowable costs, and forgives tens of millions of dollars more in penalties. After a year-long review of the T's contract with CRRC, a team of advisors recommended the transit agency continue its work with the Chinese manufacturer despite repeated disruptions, but alter the agreement to include new incentives and deadlines. MBTA officials reached a proposed settlement with CRRC that will increase what the agency pays for all-new Red and Orange Line fleets by as much as $148 million, which would account for higher-than-expected costs linked to the pandemic and supply chain problems, according to a presentation Deputy General Manager Jeff Gonneville gave Thursday morning. The tentative agreement also waives about $90 million in penalties that the manufacturer faces for delays so far. Another $37 million in damages will remain in place, but the updated contract sets incentives that could effectively dismiss those charges as well if CRRC meets new targets. Under the deal, CRRC faces new deadlines to deliver all Orange Line cars by September 2025 and all Red Line cars by the end of 2027 — in both cases several years later than the original deadlines. The MBTA board approved the contract change with all members voting yes except for one abstention. Gonneville told MBTA board members that advisors who reviewed the upheaval at Gov. Maura Healey's instruction concluded that reshaping the CRRC contract is a better option than trying to find to an alternative manufacturer. "A new procurement was going to take up to five years before the MBTA actually received a first vehicle, and each vehicle could be potentially $1 million more per car than a negotiation with CRRC," he said. "The recommendation ultimately was that a reset with CRRC was in the best interest for the MBTA and our customers." The original $565 million contract has already been amended, swelling its current value to $870 million before accounting for any changes proposed Thursday. About 112 new Orange Line cars out of the 152 ordered have been delivered, as have 18 of the 252 Red Line cars. NEPM's Sam Hudzik contributed to this report. Updated: March 28, 2024 at 3:34 PM EDT This story has been updated to include the outcome of the vote on the contract change. News report describes ‘toxic environment’ at CRRC factory manufacturing MBTA cars By Trains Staff \| January 16, 2023 \| Last updated on February 6, 2024 Boston Globe article says former workers describe pretending to work while awaiting parts A CRRC-built Orange Line trainset. A Boston Globe report details major issues at the Springfield, Mass., factory where the equipment is built. MBTASPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts factory where China’s CRRC is building rapid-transit cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is a “toxic environment” where equipment is advanced on the assembly line despite missing parts and workers often wait months for parts to arrive because suppliers have not been paid, according to a Boston Globe report. The CRRC MA factory in Springfield, Mass., is producing 404 cars for the MBTA’s Red and Orange lines. So far, only about 90 cars have been delivered of the roughly 340 that should have been on hand by now; four cars are supposed to be delivered monthly but none have delivered since at least September. The MBTA recently sent CRRC a letter detailing its dissatisfaction with production and saying that the manufacturer has “abandoned its core responsibilities” to ensure production quality [see “MBTA letter blasts CRRC …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 5, 2023]. Those cars have been pulled from service several times because of technical issues, most recently electrical arcing attributed to wiring issues [see “MBTA sidelines some Orange Line equipment …,” News Wire, Dec. 31, 2022]. The Globe spoke to former workers who said they quit over their frustrations in working at CRRC or were let go after disagreements with other employees or supervisors. One described taking a day off and returning to find a wall had been installed in a car that he had said was awaiting a part, requiring the wall to be removed so the part could be installed. In frustration, he said, he quit on the spot. Another employee described workers watching movies on their phones, pretending to work while awaiting parts or testing cars that they knew were missing parts. The Globe also obtained a letter in which an MBTA official said key suppliers Wabtec Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. were “withdrawing their support due to commercial issues” — apparently a reference to payment problems, at least in the case of Wabtec, based on meeting notes obtained by the Globe. A CRRC spokeswoman did not dispute the workers’ description of conditions, the Globe said, but said in an email that the company “remains committed to delivering the Orange and Red line project and continues to work cooperatively with the MBTA project team to move this project forward.” An MBTA spokesman said the agency is “aggressively managing the contract with CRRC” and that cars put into service have met requirements. Comments+