The MBTA Red Line abruptly derailed after motor failure at Andrew Station on Wednesday February 21.
During a typical Wednesday morning commute, many were faced with serious delays after the last six cars of a Red Line train fell off the track. This incident occurred right as the train was pulling into Andrew Station but was able to re-rail itself on its own, leaving 300 feet of the train’s last car damaged from impact. The train was immediately taken out of service leaving many passengers frightened.
Myesha Neely, commuter at Eastern, says hearing about this event was “crazy.” Neely relies on the MBTA to get her to and from school, and since her commute is an hour and a half each way, any type of delay is an inconvenience. She says it would be nice if the “MBTA had a back-up plan” when things like this happen, so commuters don’t have to waste time waiting for a shuttle bus. During the day of the derailment, Neely ended up taking an Uber home, but “they aren’t cheap” she says. With hour-long waits to get onto a shuttle bus starting at JFK/UMass, it’s understandable why Neely opted for an Uber that day.
Although no one was hurt or injured by the derailment, this experience left passengers in shock. Kyle Hemmingway of Dorchester was on the train while the derailment was happening and described the event as a “dizzying experience” according to the Boston Globe. There were shards of flying glass, tons of smoke, and a lot of frantic people trying to get off the train once it’s doors opened.
Jackie Schneider sophomore at Emmanuel College, is a frequent user of the MBTA commuter rail and describes this event as “unexpected and shocking.” Although this will not stop Schneider from riding the T, she did make it a point that “there should be regular inspections” to all trains and wonders why “this [happened] in the first place.”
The MBTA has come out and said that this issue is due to motor problems in the last car of the train. According to Boston Magazine online, T General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez said, “This is a serious incident and we want our customers to know that our top priority is to operate a safe system for our customers.”
The derailment caused hundreds of people to rely on shuttle busses to and from Dorchester and South Boston for eight hours while Andrew, Broadway, and JFK/UMass were immediately closed.