MBTA OFFICIALS on Thursday disclosed a series of safety incidents over the last month, including four “near misses” involving subway trains and track repair workers and a commuter rail train that suffered wheel damage when a hand brake remained engaged for most of a run.
The near misses were all described as “human capital errors,” situations where workers were fixing track and a train came too close to them. In some of the situations, workers appeared to be at fault, failing to get permission to work in a specific area. In other instances, trains failed to obey a stop signal or arrived unexpectedly at a work area.
Members of an MBTA safety subcommittee who received the report on the near misses seemed shocked at the incidents. “I’m very grateful no injuries occurred,” said Mary Beth Mello.
Phillip Eng, the T’s new general manager, sat in on the virtual meeting and said he discussed the incidents with the transit authority’s two safety oversight agencies, the state Department of Public Utilities and the Federal Transit Administration. New safety directives were issued for workers accessing the subway system and employees also participated in a safety standdown where the rules surrounding repair work were reviewed.
“These [incidents] are avoidable and they should not be happening,” said Eng, who has been on the job since Monday. “This is my top priority, in addition to others.”
Another incident occurred March 20 on a commuter rail train operating on the Providence Line. The train left South Station with a handbrake engaged on the last car. The situation was not discovered until the train reached Wickford Junction in Rhode Island. The train had to be pulled out of service and the wheels on the last car had to be replaced.
T officials said they are instituting procedures requiring train operators to check the brakes on each car before beginning a trip.
Ron Ester, the MBTA’s safety chief, briefed the subcommittee on the T’s eight-step procedure for addressing slow zones, but he wasn’t very forthcoming about where that effort stands or how much repair work is involved. Slow zones are currently in place on roughly a quarter of the subway system, reducing speeds to lower than 10 miles per hour in some areas.
The slow zones were initiated systemwide on March 9 when T officials became concerned that tests conducted to uncover track flaws were not being followed up on. The T subsequently lifted many of the slow zones but kept a large number in place, suggesting that some defects had never been repaired.
Robert Butler, a member of the subcommittee, said he was surprised to hear that slow zones were put in place on sections of the Orange Line where large sections of track were replaced during a month-long shutdown last year. “If new rails were put down, there shouldn’t be any restrictions if we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” Butler said.
Eng said he has directed T staff to document how much repair work is needed in each of the slow zone areas. He said he will share that information with the public when it becomes available.