The Healey administration announced Monday that Philip Ng, former president of the Long Island Railroad, will take over as general manager of the MBTA starting April 10.
The announcement ends a months-long, high-stakes search for a new head for the beleaguered transit agency.
“Phil Eng is the proven leader the MBTA needs to improve safety and reliability across the system and restore public confidence,” Governor Maura Healy said in a statement. “He understands that a functioning transit system is essential to a functioning economy, and has a proven track record of taking the reins of struggling public transit systems and dramatically improving service.”
Since June, the engineer has held the position of Executive Vice President at engineering consulting firm The LiRo Group, advising public and private sector clients on engineering, transportation and infrastructure projects, the announcement says. was before President of the Metropolitan Long Island Railroad (LIRR) transportation authority, from 2018 to early last year, when he announced his retirement. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer for the D.C. Transit Authority and Deputy Executive Commissioner for the New York State Department of Transportation, where he served for several decades in engineering positions.
As head of LIRR, the engineer oversaw a workforce of More than 7,000 people. Before he took over the helm, the LIRR, a commuter rail system, had been delivering its worst on-time performance in 18 years, New York State Monitor found. Under his watch, the performance is on time steadily.
“It is time for a new way of doing business at the MBTA,” the engineer said in a statement. “As an engineer, transportation professional for 40 years, and travel professional, I focus on finding innovative solutions to complex problems and approaching them with a sense of urgency that always puts the customer first.
“I am also committed to supporting the hardworking employees who keep the MBTA running and ramping up staffing to ensure we have the workforce to deliver the reliable service that riders deserve.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Taylor Dolven can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @employee.
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