MBTA chief Phil Eng on his expanded role, World Cup plans

Phil Eng came to Massachusetts three years ago to tackle one of the state’s toughest jobs. Now, he’s got two jobs. And he says he’s having a blast.

Initially hired as general manager of the MBTA, Eng has more recently pulled double duty as interim state transportation secretary since October. In an interview with WBUR’s Morning Edition, Eng said he’s confident he can continue to do both jobs.

“I like both jobs. I do like both jobs,” he said.

But some critics, including the Boston Globe’s editorial board, have argued that it’s nearly impossible to effectively manage the two mammoth operations at the same time. Eng said he’s been able to handle the workload by delegating to his staff, and by taking advantage of the places where the two gigs overlap.

“There's so many connection points. There's a lot of opportunity for efficiencies and benefits,” he said.

It’s up to Gov. Maura Healey to appoint a permanent transportation secretary. For now, Eng said, there’s no indication that she intends to boot him from the MassDOT corner office any time soon.

“Right now,” he said, “my intention and understanding is it’s full steam ahead.”

On top of all his other duties, Eng and the T have to try and get soccer fans to and from seven World Cup matches this summer. The MBTA will transport up to 20,000 people to each of the seven matches held at Gillette Stadium starting June 13.

“We’re ready,” Eng said.

To accommodate the crowds, the T will adjust commuter rail schedules. Eng said the agency would do what it can to limit the disturbances to regular commuters.

For the match-day fans, crews have also been building a new, larger platform at Foxborough station, steps away from Gillette Stadium.

The platform “is expected to be done at the end of May,” Eng said. ‘We're really excited about that in just under 10 months.”

Fans who do take the commuter rail to Foxborough for the World Cup will pay handsomely for the privilege. The T is charging $80 for a match-day ticket to Gillette, four times the fare for a New England Patriots game or a concert.

Eng defended the price hike, saying the MBTA is spending about $70 million to cover additional train service and new station platform.

”If you say we were going to run our regular event service, two trains, and I didn't have to do anything differently, we could've done that,” he said. “But there's no way two trains can carry 20,000 people.”

Eng said the $80 ticket would cover more than just a ride from South Station to the stadium. Ticket holders will be able to ride anywhere they want on the commuter rail on match day at no added cost. That should allow fans to book a hotel or rent a house anywhere in the region.

“If you think about what we’ve done, it’s not even recouping our costs,” he said. “It is a very fair price.”