MBTA

Of the 14 Keolis unions, only one has agreed to new contract amendments. The rest have all been without new language since their contracts could be updated in July 2022. Under federal laws, railroad contracts technically never expire and remain in place until they are amended.

The MBTA is backing away from a statement made last Thursday by the agency’s senior manager of fare policy and analysis, who estimated 25 percent of fares on the south side of the commuter rail system are not being collected.

“That’s a lot – 25 percent,” Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said. “That’s a really big loss of revenue.”

McGee, a former state lawmaker and mayor of Lynn, is very similar to Glynn in a policy sense. But the two men have very different leadership styles.

A June test of the surrounding soil found asbestos fibers in 56 of the 148 samples in the first six feet of the soil at the site. Asbestos was not found in the “deeper natural soil.”

MBTA officials are forecasting a nearly $700 million deficit in fiscal 2026, which begins next July. They also say the T will run short of cash to pay its bills some time between July and September next year.

Monica Tibbits-Nutt, the secretary of transportation, a member of the MBTA board, and the co-chair of the transportation revenue task force, said nothing during the T board’s discussion about new revenues.

The dispute has been simmering for years, with the T low-balling the city initially and then refusing to budge. The fight spilled over into the political arena, with local lawmakers accusing New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell of being too greedy and endangering the long-delayed South Coast Rail project.

Eng also announced that a 24-day shutdown of the Braintree branch of the Red Line in September will eliminate 20 speed restrictions and lay the foundation for raising the top speed of trains on that branch from 40 to 50 miles per hour by early December. Subway trains haven’t gone that fast for decades, T officials say.

Service will be provided by trains capable of running off batteries as well as electric catenaries. The hybrid service will enable the trains to run through tunnels and other areas without needing to build overhead wires.

The ambassadors, who work for a private contractor that operates under the name Block By Block, help passengers buy tickets and navigate stations and also serve as the T’s eyes and ears monitoring safety hazards and maintenance needs inside the subway system.

Keolis Commuter Services was originally hired in 2014 and is currently operating under a four-year extension that ends on June 30, 2026. The latest extension, which would run through the end of June 2027, would give Keolis an extra $5 million a year over the next three years on top of the roughly $365 million annual fee the company already collects.

The secretary said speeding is a problem on Massachusetts roadways because law enforcement officials aren’t writing enough citations.