BOSTON, MA — The future of the Green Line is here. For the first time in nearly a decade, a new rail car will take to the tracks and pick up passengers Friday.

The first of 24 new Green Line cars will be introduced to the fleet and enters passenger service at North Station. By next fall the other 23 new cars will also go into service. It's part of an multi-million dollar MBTA makeover "to improve reliability, capacity, maintainability, safety, and comfort," according to MassDOT.

The new cars come as the MBTA works to upgrade signal and other core infrastructure for all branches of the T and has started construction on the 4.7 mile Green Line Extension project. Under a $118 million contract with the MBTA, CAF USA is manufacturing and delivering the "low-floor" light rail vehicles for the Green Line. The cars are coming from Spain where they manufacture the shells and frames and final assembly and testing happens at its manufacturing plant located in Elmira, NY.

How are they different from the current cars? Look for better access to priority seating, fancy sliding doors to help boarding, LCD destination monitors, more speakers, and more room. The new futuristic trains will look much like the current Green Line trains on the outside but they'll have video screens and special sensors to count passengers on the inside.

They'll also be outfitted with the U.S.'s first Crash Energy Management Structural Design on a light rail vehicle, better braking equipment, thicker wheels, and dual auxiliary power systems.

There will be bridge plates inside, more priority seating, door locator tones, LCD destination monitors, interior destination signage, and increased speakers. Safety enhancements include CCTV monitors, yellow grab railings, push-button stop-request functionality, and rear-view mirror monitors for Green Line operators.

It's part of the $963.7 million multi-phased Green Line Transformation Program, that also is tackling track replacement and signal upgrades to the D branch.