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The design, which was favored over two others in a public poll, features a green and dark gray paint scheme along the body of the train car, as well as green doors and a white and navy blue lower running strip.
The MBTA is in the process of designing new “supercars” for the Green Line, and on Monday revealed the chosen paint design for the future cars.
The transit authority let the public choose between three paint designs for the cars through a poll after presenting the designs earlier this month.
Option 3, which features a green and dark gray paint scheme along the body of the car, green doors, and a white and navy blue lower running strip, was the most popular design, the MBTA said in a press release.
The poll ran from Oct. 2 to 13 and received more than 16,300 responses, the MBTA said. Option 3 was the decisive winner with 9,566 votes, or almost 59% of the vote.
“Ensuring that we engage with riders and incorporate their feedback is critical in everything we do,” MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said in the release. “ … We value the time that it takes to vote, and the fact that we heard directly from thousands of riders demonstrates the importance of these new Green Line cars to the public.”
Option 3 also prevailed in Boston.com’s poll on the designs, garnering nearly 50% of the vote among over 220 readers.
“I haven’t been on the Green Line recently, but I like option 3 because one can clearly see it’s a Green Line trolley,” Brighton reader Valerie P. said.
Late last summer, the MBTA’s board of directors awarded a nearly $811 million contract for the production of over 100 Green Line type 10 “supercars” to replace the line’s outdated type 7 and 8 cars.
The new cars will be 40 feet longer than the line’s current cars and easier to maintain, the MBTA said in the release. They will also include “state-of-the-art” communication systems, wider doors, and the “latest generation of crash-safety technology.”
Amid continued repairs to the Green Line, these promised improvements seem to be front of mind for both the transit authority and the public.
One popular response to an MBTA tweet asking riders to pick a paint design for the new cars simply read “The one that doesn’t break down.” Additionally, many Boston.com readers who responded to our poll on the paint designs said the line was too slow to meet their needs.
In Monday’s announcement, the MBTA said its vehicle engineering team is in the process of engaging with the public and a variety of stakeholders about the supercars’ design.
“Safety and reliability continue to be the main priority of the Green Line Type 10 supercar design process, with the experience of riders and the operator as the central focus,” the transit authority wrote in the release.
The new cars will be in design for several more years before pilot cars are introduced to the line, the MBTA said. A mock-up of the new cars is expected to be made available to the public next year so that riders can give feedback.
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