The Orange Line shutdown just started a week ago, but in one part of Medford, Massachusetts, the trains have been stuck for weeks. Neighbors said during that time, the abandoned trains have become a public safety hazard and they are calling on the MBTA to have them removed.
Covered in graffiti and broken windows, the abandoned Orange Line trains can be seen from Rivers Edge Drive in Medford. There are dozens of them and neighbors said they showed up out of nowhere earlier this summer.
"It started off with just a couple of them and then one night, I’m looking out the window and I see a whole line of trains," Jeanmarie Gray of Medford said.
Separated by a fence, Gray can see the tops of the trains from her kitchen window, but she is more concerned about the activity going on inside of them. She said one of her neighbors recently had a close call.
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"She was walking her dog and someone threw a bottle over the fence that almost hit her in the head. I think people are living in the trains," Gray said.
State Rep. Steven Ultrino, D-Malden, said the calls started coming in about a month ago from residents whose homes abut the train tracks. He has been trying to get to the bottom of it, but has heard little from the MBTA.
"I know they’re doing a lot of work over the next 30 days, but this is really something that should be taken away," Ultrino said.
NBC10 Boston asked the MBTA about it. A spokesperson said when they have an adequate amount of new trains available for service, they will begin to retire and dispose of old cars.
Gray said she wishes she had a firm timeline for when they would be removed, but she is hopeful they will be gone once the Orange Line shutdown is over.
"They’re working on the tracks at night here. I’m just hoping someone working might say something and something might be done, but who knows," Gray said.
