Shuttle buses replacing service on part of Orange Line for 3 weeks after derailment
The MBTA is also pulling all its new Orange and Red Line trains from service out of an “abundance of caution” after one of the cars jumped the tracks Tuesday.
Shuttle buses will replace rail service on a stretch of the Orange Line for the next three weeks as the MBTA works to repair damage caused when a train derailed near Wellington Station on Tuesday.
One of the MBTA’s new Orange Line trains was traveling north at a “slow rate of speed,” crossing over to the southbound track to accommodate ongoing track maintenance work, when it derailed just before noon on Tuesday, according to the transit agency.
No one was injured, but a “decades old” track switch was significantly damaged.
To allow workers to replace the switch, shuttle buses will replace train service on the Orange Line in both directions between Oak Grove and Sullivan Square for the next three weeks. The MBTA is also removing its five new Orange and Red Line trains from service.
“While the cause of the derailment has not yet been determined, the MBTA, out of an abundance of caution, will keep its new Orange Line and Red Line cars out of service to allow vehicle engineers to perform a thorough analysis of the cars’ performance,” the transit agency said in a statement.
The MBTA has been running five of the new six-car trains — four on the Orange Line and one on the Red.
The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.
To help facilitate our ongoing Orange Line infrastructure upgrades at Wellington and address damage from the derailment, shuttle buses will continue to replace service between Oak Grove and Sullivan Square for the next 3 weeks.
— MBTA (@MBTA) March 17, 2021
Follow us here and on https://t.co/U4WBPZRBct for additional service updates.
We appreciate our riders’ understanding while we make these necessary repairs and improvements.
— MBTA (@MBTA) March 17, 2021
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