LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - After a piece of loose sheet metal caused a fire to erupt on an Orange Line train Thursday, Governor Charlie Baker found himself in a familiar position: answering for a mechanical failure of the MBTA.
“Obviously today was just a colossal failure,” said Baker. “Today we all get an F. Let’s face it.”
The Orange Line fire was just the latest in a string of MBTA incidents this year, including a fatal accident on a Red Line train this spring and a battery explosion at the Wellington train yard earlier this summer that prompted the organization to temporarily pull newer Orange and Red Line cars.
In June, the Federal Transit Administration stated that the MBTA needed to “raise the bar on safety” and instituted deadlines for the transit organization to meet.
“Part of why the FTA’s role in this is so important is because they will give us a lot of the guidance and the information and the experience that comes from being an entity that overseas and manages and knows the way that people approach these issues across the country,” said Baker.
Sen. Ed Markey took to Twitter to cast blame at Baker, stating “This is unacceptable. Years of neglect and mismanagement have put MBTA riders in danger’s path. We need immediate action from the Governor to ensure safety as we resume full service. Anything less is a further abdication of leadership.”
While Baker decried the MBTA’s onslaught of incidents, he said he still believes the MBTA does a satisfactory job overall.
“Incidents like this are horrifying and unacceptable and do tremendous damage to the work that the T does generally all the time,” said Baker.
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