T panel votes to buy 75 new double decker coaches

By Noah Bierman, Globe staff

The MBTA board of directors voted today to buy 75 double-decker coaches for the commuter rail system, following up on a promise made last year.

The contract with Rotem USA Corp, of Philadelphia, is worth $190 million. The T approved an additional $10 million contract for engineering services.

The engineering contract was nearly held up because one board member was concerned the firm, PB Americas, had not fully disclosed its link to Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the firm involved in a Big Dig lawsuit.

General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said this week that the first of the new coaches should be in service in three years.

The MBTA owns 410 coaches, including 140 double-deckers, to carry about 72,000 riders daily. The system’s on-time performance has been riders’ biggest complaint, but cramped coaches is also high on many commuters’ list of complaints.

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