A SOUTHBOUND Red Line train slowly entering Broadway station derailed at approximately 9:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, and the second car of the six-car train hit up against the platform, causing minor damage to its side.
No one was injured and all 47 passengers exited the train safely, MBTA officials said.
Pictures from the scene suggested the train consisted of older Red Line cars; newly manufactured Red Line vehicles are currently sidelined as the T investigates a derailment that occurred in March involving a new Orange Line train.
Derailments are a major concern at the T. A string of derailments in 2019 led to the hiring of an independent panel to examine safety at the agency, particularly subway operations where the greatest risk was perceived. In a report issued in December 2019, the three-member panel concluded safety was not a priority at the T and the agency was failing in one of its core missions – keeping riders and workers safe.
The report prompted the hiring of an expanded safety team, which began reporting regularly to the agency’s former oversight board, which expired in June and hasn’t been replaced yet. In a report in February, the safety team said there had been five derailments on the main subway lines in 2020 and seven on tracks in repair yards. The target level was three on the main lines and nine in the repair yards.
So far this year there have been three derailments on the subway lines, according to T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. One was in March involving a new Orange Line train traveling at slow speed through a work zone near Wellington Station in Medford, another involved an Orange Line train that was not in passenger service at the time, and now the Red Line derailment at Broadway in South Boston.
T officials have cited multiple potential causes for the Orange Line derailment in March, which prompted the withdrawal of all new Orange and Red Line cars from service. Some of the new Orange Line trains have been returned to service, but no final report on what caused the derailment has emerged.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
Pesaturo said on Tuesday that the cause of the Broadway Station derailment is being investigated. He said buses are subbing in for Red Line service between Park and JFK/UMass Stations while the derailed train is removed. The shuttle service continued until the MBTA closed Tuesday evening and a shuttle train operated on the northbound track between Ashmont and JFK to allow work crews to gain access to the derailed train via the southbound track.
On Wednesday morning, regular service resumed but a speed restriction was in place between South Station and Broadway.
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