NTSB: Green Line train that rear-ended another was on ‘full power’
The report did not say if the controller had been turned to that setting on purpose or accidentally.
Green Line Crash:
BOSTON (AP) — The operator of a Green Line train that struck the rear of another train near Boston University in July had turned the speed controller to full power, according to the preliminary results released Tuesday of a federal investigation into the collision, which sent more than two dozen people to the hospital.
The train accelerated to 31 mph before colliding with the train ahead of it, which had been moving at about 10 mph, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report said.
“A preliminary review of striking train’s event recorder data revealed that the operator of the striking train placed the master controller in a full-power position prior to the accident,” the report said.
The report did not say if the controller had been turned to full power on purpose or accidentally.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced the day after the crash that the operator of the train in the rear had been placed on paid administrative leave.
The crash on the MBTA’s Green Line B branch on July 30 sent 24 passengers and three workers to the hospital, the report said. All injuries were considered minor.
The investigation continues, and the NTSB said it will now focus on internal and external oversight, operational testing, equipment, and employee fitness for duty.
An email seeking comment was left Tuesday with a spokesperson for the MBTA.
The trains, each consisting of two coupled railcars, were both westbound and crashed on the track running down the middle of Commonwealth Avenue west of Boston University.
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