Green Line trains were back up and running Saturday night after another day of overhead power problems that caused frustrating delays and forced passengers off trains and onto the tracks.
“There was a big bang and then the train stopped," said Charlie Sullivan, a passenger who was stuck on the train. "Everybody was very calm and it was about half an hour or so before the firemen came and guided us out. You can see my touching the dirty walls down there as I was leaving.”
Between Friday and Saturday, Sullivan and dozens of other passengers were stuck on trains and had to be walked off.
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According to the MBTA, approximately 20 feet of overhead wire fell onto a train car after a westbound trolley experienced a problem with its pantograph. Fifteen riders walked off near Copley Station, with service suspended between Kenmore and Park stations.
Service was later restored between Kenmore and Park Street, and shuttle buses were being phased out Saturday afternoon.
The night before, there was another electrical issue. A train broke down near Lechmere Station on Friday, and about 80 passengers were forced to get off the train and walk along the tracks.
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NBC10 Boston spoke to Mayor Michelle Wu on Saturday about the latest trouble on the T as public outrage continues to grow.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for people who are just trying to make their lives work," Boston's mayor said. "We need our public transportation system to be the glue that holds the city together not the walls and the barriers in between.”
There's an MBTA board meeting this week after agency officials announced this past week that more than half of the new Green Line Extension tracks are too narrow and need repair work.
Parts of the extension were placed under speed restrictions last month, frustrating commuters. It is just the latest of a series of issues plaguing the agency that have raised questions about safety and reliability.
The MBTA says the previous administration knew about the problem and now they don't know when they'll start the weeks-long fix.
The Union Branch opened in March 2022, followed by the Medford Branch in December 2022, and the MBTA's project website, as of Thursday, listed work as complete.
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