BOSTON (WHDH) - Train crashes like Friday’s collision between two MBTA trolleys are rare, an expert said, but drivers still need to be alert to prevent them.
The MBTA is investigating the crash between two Green Line trolleys outside the Agganis Arena, which left 25 people injured. The operator who rear-ended the first train has been placed on administrative leave, officials said.
The MBTA is working on automatic controls for the system that will monitor speed and track issues and can stop cars, but those controls won’t be in place for several years. Transit expert Carl Berkowitz said while the Green Line is an older system, it’s equipped to handle most scenarios.
“The Green line has track braking in addition to ordinary braking, and can stop pretty much on a dime. So this really surprised me,” Berkowitz said. “Most of the system that’s in place requires the due diligence on the part of the train driver.”
In 2008, a Green Line operator was killed after her train ran through a red light and slammed into the back of another trolley. And in 2009, 50 people were injured when a Green Line trolley crashed in the tunnel between Park Street and Government Center, and officials said one of the operators was texting when the crash happened.
“At the end it’s up to the train driver to control the train. There is no external force that controlling the train,” Berkowitz said. “You want to take out of the equation human error. and that’s why these accidents occur, human error.”
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