BOSTON — In the latest embarrassment for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its Green Line extension transit line, the agency shut down the extension this afternoon (Friday, Oct. 20) because of problems with the overhead power system, forcing some passengers to walk along the right-of-way on foot to evacuate from at least one stalled train.
The latest issue occurred when the pantograph on one train failed at about 3:30 p.m., the Boston Globe reports. Shuttle buses began serving the stations on the extension about 4 p.m.; the MBTA announced on X, formerly Twitter, shortly before 7:30 p.m. EDT that rail service had been restored “after repairs were made to the overhead wire.”
During the outage, passengers on a train stalled between the Lechmere and East Somerville stations were stuck onboard for more than an hour before MBTA employees walked those on board along the tracks to the nearest station, according to a Globe reporter who was among the passengers. The MBTA said about 80 passengers were onboard, according to WBZ Radio.
The power issues came a day after MBTA CEO Phillip Eng announced at a press conference that a majority of track on the 4.7-mile extension had been built out of gauge and will have to be repaired, a process that could take weeks [see “MBTA Green Line extension was built with track out of gauge …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 19, 2023]
Eng said he has placed new people into extension leadership roles, and MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said two people who had held senior roles on the extension project were no longer employed as of Thursday.
— Updated at 7:40 p.m. CDT with resumption of service.
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