Derailment forces MBTA to take new trains out of service, repair infrastructure

Written by RT&S Staff
image description
Rail Security Alliance is concerned about CRRC.
@thetrueboston via Twitter

When it’s new and shiny, the last thing you want to see is dents and dings.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has pulled all of its new six-car subway trains following a derailment on March 16.

The accident happened on the Orange Line in a work zone at Wellington Station in Medford. Nobody was hurt, but officials are trying to figure out what went wrong. The train was back on the tracks and moved around 5:30 p.m., and crews inspected the infrastructure of the track.

The train was moving through a work zone at a slow speed when the third car fell off the tracks.

“Safety is at the forefront of all we do, and we will do all that is necessary to identify and resolve the cause of today’s event to ensure the safety of our riders and employees,” tweeted the MBTA.

Orange Line service between Oak Grove and Sullivan Square stations will be closed for the next three weeks, and MBTA will use the time to replace a track switch that was damaged due to the derailment. MBTA also will make other infrastructure improvements during the shutdown window. Track replacement is currently under way near the Wellington Station.

Both Orange Line and Red Line trains will be out of service so engineers can do a thorough inspection of the train cars.

Read more articles on passenger rail.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Media