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Thursday, the MBTA announced that three qualified teams have been short-listed to submit proposals as the MBTA considers its Commuter Rail operating contract successor. The MBTA’s current Operating Agreement for managing, operating, and maintaining the Commuter Rail system will expire on June 30, 2027.
The three shortlisted qualified teams are (in alphabetical order):
Keolis - Alstom JV Partners: a joint venture of Keolis America Inc. and Alstom Transport USA Inc.
Mass Regional Rail: a consortium of Alternate Concepts Inc., TransitAmerica Services Inc. and RATP Développement S.A.
A consortium of Transdev North America, Inc. and Transport UK Holdings Limited.
The MBTA issued an initial Request for Proposals (RFP) to the three shortlisted qualified teams on December 17, 2025.
The MBTA’s Commuter Rail system has achieved many significant milestones following the COVID-19 pandemic. Embracing a new and bold approach, schedules across the network were rewritten, shifting to consistent all-day service. The flexibility offered by these new schedules has led to ridership recovery unmatched by most Commuter Rail systems across the country. The MBTA is advancing work to continue to improve service frequency, including 30-minute headways on the Framingham/Worcester Line. Reliability continues to be improved through projects like the upcoming upgrades at North Station, and safety continues to be the number one priority, including through safety enhancements at nearly 300 at-grade crossings across the network.
The MBTA’s objective is for its next operating partner to build upon these successes, upgrading the legacy Commuter Rail system to a modernized, high-frequency Regional Rail service. The contract scope also includes parking operations as well as delivering and operating Fairmount Line decarbonized battery-electric multiple unit (BEMU) service. A wide range of redeveloped performance indicators will incentivize excellence in performance, customer service, fare collection, and capital investment while driving continuous improvement. The current procurement process is aimed at identifying a partner who can collaborate with the MBTA on delivering this vision.
The MBTA is conducting a two-step procurement process to select the next operator for its Regional Rail Operating Contract. The process began with a Request for Qualifications issued on July 18, 2025. Statements of Qualification were received on October 3, 2025. The second step of this process is the issuing of the RFP, which took place yesterday.
Beginning this month, the MBTA will engage with each entity as part of a competitive dialogue process, ensuring that the final contract will elicit competitive bids and provide value to the Commonwealth. The bidders will also spend this nine-month period conducting due diligence. In fall 2026, Final Proposals will be submitted to the T.
The MBTA aims to select the Preferred Proposer by the end of 2026 to allow sufficient time for the new operator to mobilize before taking over responsibility for the service.
