Massachusetts lawmakers grilled the state’s top transportation official Thursday about the massive breakdowns on the MBTA and Commuter Rail. The testimony yielded more questions than answers.
State transportation secretary Stephanie Pollack told the committee she doesn’t know how much the winter storms cost or how much money it took to restore service or even how much money it will take to upgrade the equipment to a state of good repair.
"So when I don’t answer those questions for you today, it’s not because I’m not trying to be cooperative," Pollack said. "It’s exactly the same questions we realized we didn’t have good answers to.”
Pollack, who only got the job a month ago, says there's no consensus on the root of the MBTA’s problems.
“I'm still trying to understand not whether it is broken — because there is no doubt in my mind that some fundamental aspects of the T are broken — but in exactly what ways it is broken, so this time we get it right.”
Pollack says all possible solutions are on the table, even taking the T into state receivership.
