Old MBTA Orange Line train cars that have been sitting for months at a rail yard in Medford, Massachusetts, are finally being removed.
Two flatbed trucks started carrying old cars out of Wellington Yard around 9 a.m. Thursday on their way to being disposed of. The 118 cars being scrapped are more than 40 years old -- with some in pretty bad shape.
These are the first Orange Line cars of the legacy fleet to be permanently removed and headed for scrap, the MBTA said. They are being replaced by an entirely new fleet of 152 state-of-the-art cars, dozens of which are on the rails.
This will likely come as very good news for people who live along Rivers Edge Drive in Medford and told NBC10 Boston and State Rep. Steven Ultrino, D-Malden, how the trains are more than an eyesore -- they're also a public safety hazard.
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“Abandoned trains can bring rats, mice, and who knows what else," Jeanmarie Gray said.
An MBTA spokesperson told NBC10 Boston at the time that the old cars would be retired and disposed of when there was an adequate amount of new trains available for service.
The Middleboro scrap yard taking the old cars said they'll be taken apart piece by piece. An MBTA representative said two of the cars are going to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Adding new cars is just one of the updates happening at the Wellington Yard as part of the Orange Line transformation program.
