BOSTON (AP/WHDH) — A power outage caused major problems on a Boston subway line during the morning commute, leaving hundreds of riders stranded and forcing others to evacuate.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said in a tweet that there was “power problem” on the Blue Line at about 8 a.m. Wednesday near the Government Center station.
Shuttle buses replaced service between the Maverick and Bowdoin stations. Blue Line service resumed at about 9:30 a.m. and bus service was phased out. There were still some residual delays.
“It’s just ridiculous,” one Blue Line commuter told 7NEWS. “It took so much time to get from Chelsea down to Maverick Station. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo says three trains were on the track at the time. One was at a station, and another was moved back to a station so passengers could disembark. A third train was just outside the Government Center stop and 200 passengers were safely evacuated.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak apologized for the inconvenience, saying an equipment problem on the train caused the power outage.
“We believe it’s an issue with the vehicle, not the power system itself,” he said. “Again, we regret the disruption to the morning commute. This is one of the reasons we are worming to accelerate our capital investment program.
The cause of the power problem is under investigation.
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