MBTA commuter trains like the one pictured run all night at a layover near the Bradford train station.
City councilors are asking for a formal review of a 30-plus-year-old impact study performed before the MBTA chose a site for the Bradford train layover.
Councilor William J. Macek said the layover at the end of the Bradford rail line, is an embarrassment to the city.
“Diesel engines run all night, spewing toxic fumes into bedroom windows and sending toxic substances into the soil,” Macek said.
This has been going on for decades. The MBTA promises action, but nothing ever happens, Macek said.
“The MBTA is just arrogant; they make promises they don’t keep.”
Neighbors of the layover near the Bradford train station have long sought relief from the noise and smell of the idling engines.
Councilors voted to invite Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, the city’s legislative delegation and representatives of the MBTA to a meeting in the city to discuss using a portion of a planned $1 billion expenditure — for 400 new train cars and an overhaul of the T — to solve the layover issue.
Macek said it is the city’s best chance in years to get something done for the neighborhood.
“We need to make a big deal of this. We’ve tried to be nice, but we’ve got to blow it up,” he said.
Councilor Melinda Barrett said the attorney general’s office is working on getting copies of the impact studies.