BOSTON (WHDH) - Some Orange Line riders who were already dealing with slower ride times dealt with even longer waits Tuesday after a door issue on a new T train caused major delays.
On the second day of service resuming post-shutdown, evening commuters at Downtown Crossing encountered a train experiencing a “door problem” on the northbound line, according to the MBTA. What had started as a 20 minute delay, however, soon grew into chaos for some riders who just wanted to get from point A to point B.
“There wasn’t really anywhere for people to go – it was just kind of pandemonium,” said Tarryn Guarino, who attempted to ride the Orange Line on Tuesday. “This was at, like, 5 o’clock – prime rush hour time. And I’ll note that this was one of the brand new trains, as well. It wasn’t, like, one of these 40-year-old, old Orange Line trains.”
Guarino had already been greeted with signage stating that trains were experiencing delays, but, the rider was determined.
“At that point, I had already tapped my card, so I was like ‘I am committed to this ride,'” Guarino said.
However, the commuter said eventually, after waiting over 20 minutes in a the cramped train car, staff called for passengers to exit due to a mechanical error with the door, which appeared to have trouble closing based on footage obtained by 7NEWS.
“They started experiencing problems with the doors,” said another Orange Line rider, Tim Fallon. “At that point, I gave up and went and looked for an Uber.”
Fallon called the experience “pretty frustrating,” given the recent 30-day shutdown, while Guarino noted they might avoid the line until further issues are solved.
“I would say ‘fix the bugs,’ but isn’t that what the last month was supposed to be for?” Guarino said. “So I don’t really know, but yeah, not a vote of confidence from me.”
Some riders who spoke with 7NEWS expressed hope that things will improve in the next week, the same span of time MBTA officials said it would take for rail speed to improve as new infrastructure settles
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