New Green Line train taken out of service day after exposed wires filled station with smoke

BOSTON (WHDH) - A new Green Line train was temporarily taken out of service Wednesday, a day after exposed wires sent smoke and sparks through the Park Street MBTA station and delayed service on the Green Line.

Doors on a new Green Line car would not open at Copley Station due to a “performance issue,” MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. A commuter told 7NEWS that the lights went out in the train on the way into the station.

The car’s propulsion system was reset and the train was returned to service, according to Pesaturo.

On Tuesday, cellphone video and photos showed overhead wires sparking between Boylston and Park Street stations, and thick smoke pouring into Park Street.

Service was suspended and then delayed between Park and Haymarket for two hours.

MBTA officials said a trough containing electrical wires was the source of the sparks and smoke, but the cause is still under investigation.

Kyron Owens, who works in Boston’s Office of Emergency Management, took a video of the smoke and said he wanted to let people know what was happening in the absence of alerts from the T.

“Folks were confused, they weren’t sure what was going on, and there were no alerts being made that there was a problem, that people should be evacuating,” Owens said. “It was just a very scary time. You just see this cloud of smoke, you can’t see into the tunnel, you can’t see if a train was even coming and then it’s just starting to really fill the station.”

Owens said he later told people they should evacuate, especially when the smoke became unbearable.

“It was getting tough to breathe,” Owens said.

The breakdown comes a day after an outside group blasted the MBTA for not making safety a priority. The panel found critical inspections and preventative maintenance were not being performed and took aim at the T’s culture of blame and retaliation.

Owens said he relies on the T and needs it to be safe.

“It’s just very troubling,” Owens said. “I have a 2-year-old son that I take on the train every day to and from work, that’s my primary mode of transportation. So I just want to make sure we have a reliable system in the Commonwealth.”

On Monday, a scathing report found “safety is not the priority” at the MBTA.

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