SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - After the Orange Line caught fire Thursday morning, forcing 200 riders to walk to safety, chaos ensued as passengers boarded crowded shuttle buses between Oak Grove and Community College.
This was just the latest incident in a series of safety issues for the T.
“They need a better system to be honest, they really do. I take this train every day to and from work, its always something with these trains,” said one passenger who was waiting for the crowded shuttle buses.
The T is already the subject of a federal investigation. Preliminary findings show safety systems lacking at the T. Just this week at the state level, lawmakers grilled MBTA officials about the report.
As 7NEWS previously reported, the FTA launched an investigation following the March dragging death of Robinson Lalin after Red Line subway doors closed on his arm at the Broadway MBTA station. That came after other high-profile injuries, including a Green Line crash sending dozens to the hospital and and escalator malfunction at Back Bay Station causing numerous injuries last year.
This summer 7NEWS obtained exclusive video earlier this summer of a video of several runaway trains, including one that crashed into a barrier and another that derailed, causing the train to start smoking and requiring passengers to exit through the train’s windows. The FTA is investigating five similar incidents.
The FTA’s report blasted the MBTA and the state Department of Public Utilities, which oversees the T, saying both departments have system-wide problems that need attention now.
“The combination of inadequate procedures and staffing and a safety culture where others look away when individuals do not follow basic safety rules create circumstances that result in unacceptable and entirely unavoidable incidents,” said FTA spokesman Paul Kincaid last month. “We’ll be ordering both the MBTA and the DPU to address these critical safety issues immediately.”
Orange Line service has since resumed with delays.
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