MBTA

Train Derails on MBTA Red Line, Causing Major Commute Delays in Boston

Tuesday's derailment is the latest in a series of problems on the T, from an escalator malfunction this weekend to a collision in July to another derailment in March

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An MBTA train that derailed Tuesday morning rolled away from the platform in the evening while crews were working, with passengers having to take the bus.

Commuters on MBTA's Red Line dealt with hours of delays Tuesday after a train derailed at Broadway Station in Boston.

The train was moving slowly southbound when it derailed, making contact with the edge of the platform at Broadway Station around 9:45 a.m., an MBTA spokesman said.

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The second car of the six-car train derailed. No one was injured and 47 passengers safely exited the train.

An MBTA Red Line train with nearly 50 people on board derailed and hit a platform Tuesday. No one was hurt but many commuters have had their trips delayed.

"It rocked back and forth, to the side, back and forth, and there was a big rumble," said Mark Pawlak, a UMass professor who was on the train's first car at the time.

Buses replaced Red Line service between Park and JFK/UMass stations while MBTA personnel work to get the train car back on the tracks. Shuttle buses were still replacing trains by about 7 p.m. Tuesday night, and commuters going through Braintree were being encouraged to use the Commuter Rail, which was accepting CharlieCards on trips to Boston and back.

When MBTA crews were putting the train back on the rails, it rolled away from the platform, the agency said shortly after 8:30 p.m. Workers on the train managed to stop it, and no one was injured.

Commuters taking shuttle buses Tuesday evening were bothered by the disruption, and Pawlak agreed.

"This is how most working people get around," he said. "We need a reliable T system and the place is crumbling."

NBC10 Boston obtained this MBTA video showing an Orange Line train derail March 16. No one was hurt.

Tuesday's derailment is the latest in a series of problems on the T, from an escalator malfunction this weekend to a collision in July to another derailment in March that caused all new Orange and Red line train cars to be pulled from service. Meanwhile, a recent report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation found that the system is heading for "fiscal calamity."

The incidents are "a function of old infrastructure, old rails, old train cars," said Chris Dempsey, a public transit advocate who's running for state auditor.

"It calls into question the basic functioning of the system and again reminds us that we need more oversight of the MBTA and more investment in the MBTA," he added.

The MBTA promised a full investigation into the derailment.

As of Tuesday night, crews were still working to move the train out of the tunnel.

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