{{Short description|American transit executive<!-- (born 196?)-->}} {{for|the Austrian racing driver|Philipp Eng}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Phillip Eng | image = MTA To Lift Bike Permit Requirement on Commuter Railroads (51374462349) (cropped).jpg | caption = Eng in 2021 | birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|61|2023|07|8}} | alma_mater = Cooper Union (BE) | years_active = 1983–present | known_for = {{plainlist| * President of the Long Island Rail Road * General manager of the MBTA * Interim Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation }} }}
'''Phillip Eng''' (born {{Birth based on age as of date|61|2023|July|8|noage=1}})<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Dolven |first=Taylor |date=July 8, 2023 |title=The MBTA's new leader is more optimistic about Boston's subway than you are |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/08/metro/ts-new-leader-is-more-optimistic-about-bostons-subway-than-you-are/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref> is an American civil engineer and transit executive serving as interim secretary of Massachusetts Department of Transportation and general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Before moving to Boston, he served as president of the Long Island Rail Road and as interim president of the New York City Transit Authority.
== Early life and education == Eng is the son of Chinese immigrants. He grew up in Williston Park on Long Island, New York, then moved to Mineola.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Castillo |first=Alfonso A. |date=April 13, 2018 |title=MTA names its COO, from Smithtown, as next LIRR president |url=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/lirr-patrick-nowakowski-i45407 |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=Newsday |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Jonathan |date=April 19, 2018 |title=New York Today: A Q. & A. With the New L.I.R.R. President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/nyregion/new-york-today-a-q-a-with-the-new-lirr-president.html |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> His parents changed the spelling of their family name from Ng to Eng to make it easier for Americans to pronounce.<ref name=":5">{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/28/metro/phil-eng-mbta-general-manager/|title=Even the MBTA can't stop Phil Eng|date=May 28, 2025|access-date=June 17, 2025|last=Wen|first=Patricia|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref>
He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Cooper Union in 1983.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Phillip Eng CE'83 |url=https://cooper.edu/alumni/coopermade/phillipeng |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=The Cooper Union |language=en}}</ref>
== Career == Eng began his career in 1983 as a junior engineer at the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). He became the department's chief engineer and executive deputy commissioner in 2013.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Seay |first=Bob |date=March 28, 2023 |title=5 things to know about Phillip Eng, the new general manager of the MBTA |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2023-03-28/5-things-to-know-about-phillip-eng-the-new-general-manager-of-the-mbta |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=GBH News |language=en}}</ref> At NYSDOT, he helped execute projects including the construction of the Kosciuszko Bridge and the opening of Rochester station.<ref name=":2" />
In March 2017, Eng was named chief operating officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, then became the New York City Transit Authority's interim president for four months beginning that October.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> In 2018, he became the 40th president of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Dolven |first1=Taylor |last2=Soebroto |first2=Ashley |date=April 10, 2023 |title=As Phillip Eng takes over as MBTA general manager, his focus: 'regain that trust' |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/10/metro/philip-eng-mbta-general-manager-first-day/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref> In that role, he enacted the initiative "LIRR Forward" to improve the system's reliability, setting on-time records in 2020 and 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Castillo |first=Alfonso A. |date=February 11, 2022 |title=LIRR president Phillip Eng resigns; Metro-North president named replacement |url=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/lirr-president-phillip-eng-departure-t14977 |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=Newsday |language=en}}</ref>
After he retired from the LIRR in 2022, he was hired as executive vice president of the LiRo Group, a construction management firm.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2, 2022 |title=The LiRo Group Welcomes Phillip Eng, PE, as Executive Vice President |url=https://www.liro.com/news/liro-welcomes-phillip-eng-as-executive-vice-president/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=LiRo |language=en-US}}</ref>
Eng was appointed by Massachusetts governor Maura Healey to head the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and started as general manager in April 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Deehan |first=Mike |date=April 11, 2023 |title=New MBTA chief Phillip Eng kicks off work at embattled agency |url=https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/04/11/philip-eng-mbta-first-day |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=Axios Boston}}</ref> At the time he assumed leadership, the MBTA faced a maintenance backlog worth an estimated $24.5 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wirzbicki |first=Alan |date=December 19, 2023 |title=For Phil Eng, fixing the T is a step toward bigger things |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/12/19/opinion/are-we-there-yet-newsletter-alan-wirzbicki-phil-eng-fixing-t-mbta/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref> In his first year, he vowed to clear the slow zones that plagued many of the MBTA's lines and recover ridership lost to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kashinsky |first1=Lisa |last2=Garrity |first2=Kelly |last3=McCarthy |first3=Mia |date=November 27, 2023 |title=Phil Eng spills the T |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/massachusetts-playbook/2023/11/27/phil-eng-spills-the-t-00128665 |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=Politico}}</ref>
The MBTA had been widely criticized for mismanagement before Eng's appointment. The executive director of the agency's advisory board told Axios six months into Eng's term in leadership that "with Phil Eng, it's like the adults are finally in charge."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Deehan |first=Mike |date=October 3, 2023 |title=A look at MBTA GM Phillip Eng's first 6 months |url=https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/10/03/mbta-phillip-eng-gm |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=Axios Boston}}</ref> He is the first MBTA general manager since 2015 with previous experience leading a transit agency.<ref name=":0" />
In April 2024, Boston.com ran an "unscientific" poll of its readers, finding the plurality of readers giving Eng a grade of 'A' for his job performance at the MBTA. While some were frustrated by the deliberate shutdowns created to clear the slow zones, most readers had praise for Eng's tenure in Boston transit, emphasizing Eng's positive changes in transparency and communication, as well as tangible improvements in their commutes.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jonas|first=Annie|date=April 22, 2024|url=https://www.boston.com/community/readers-say/this-is-the-grade-readers-gave-phillip-engs-first-year-at-the-mbta/|publisher=boston.com|accessdate=August 16, 2024 |title=Here's how readers would grade Phillip Eng's first year at the MBTA }}</ref> Eng has also been lauded for his improvements in management and culture at the MBTA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-mbta-general-manager-phil-eng-one-year/|publisher=CBS Boston|access-date=2024-08-16 |title=MBTA General Manager Phil Eng finishes first year on the job. So how's he doing? |last=Keller |first=Jon |date=April 10, 2024 }}</ref> By late 2024 Eng had gained a notably popular following among MBTA riders, spawning numerous positive Internet memes, and even being nicknamed by some as "Train Daddy Eng".<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/16/metro/phillip-eng-mbta-fans/|last=Larson|first=Shannon|title=Riders had lost hope in the T. Then came 'Train Daddy Eng.'|work=The Boston Globe|date=December 16, 2024|access-date=March 5, 2025}}</ref> In December 2024, ''The Boston Globe'' reported that the vast majority of slow zones had been removed, reducing average wait times by as much as 30 percent on the various rail lines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Larson |first=Shannon |date=2024-12-20 |title=MBTA expects a slow-zone-free system this weekend. But problems persist. - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/20/metro/mbta-slow-zone-free-green-line/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>
On October 16, 2025, Eng was named interim secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation following the resignation of previous secretary, Monica Tibbits-Nutt.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sesselman |first1=Jamy Pombo |title=Monica Tibbits-Nutt parting ways with Massachusetts Department of Transportation |url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/monica-tibbits-nutt-parting-ways-with-massachusetts-department-of-transportation/69054926 |access-date=16 October 2025 |work=WCVB |publisher=Hearst Television Inc. |date=16 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == Eng is married and has four children.<ref name=":0" /> He lives in East Boston and takes the Blue Line and Green Line for his commute.<ref name=":5" />
Eng is a beer enthusiast and homebrews his own beer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeCosta-Klipa |first=Nik |date=August 2, 2023 |title='Little by little': MBTA GM Phil Eng talks hiring sprees, slow zones and beer |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/02/phil-eng-mbta-slow-zones-staff-attrition-radio-boston-interview-newsletter |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref> He is a fan of the New York Mets.<ref name=":3" />
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons-inline}} * [https://www.mbta.com/people/phillip-eng Phillip Eng] | MBTA
{{Maura Healey cabinet}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eng, Phillip}} Category:Living people Category:1960s births Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:People from Williston Park, New York Category:Businesspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts Category:Cooper Union alumni Category:New York City Transit Authority people Category:Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority people Category:20th-century American engineers Category:21st-century American engineers Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:American civil engineers Category:Engineers from New York (state) Category:Businesspeople from New York (state) Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:Engineers from Massachusetts Category:American business executives