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Green Line trolley derails after apparently hitting skateboard
"It does appear that the train struck a skateboard which wedged between wheels and the rail."
Green Line service at the end of the E branch was disrupted for more than two hours Tuesday night, after a trolley hopped the tracks leaving Heath Street Station after apparently hitting a skateboard that was in its path.
The MBTA tweeted shortly after 8 p.m. that E branch trolley service was terminating at Brigham Circle due to the derailment, directing passengers to use the parallel Route 39 bus for alternate service to Heath Street.
An agency spokesperson told WCVB that “one car of a slow-moving, two-car train derailed just after departing” the station, adding that it “remained upright” and the three passengers onboard safely exited. There were no injuries.
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After crews re-railed the trolley, normal service resumed shortly after 10:30 p.m.
Photos and videos taken by bystanders showed MBTA workers focused on debris in the tracks, and one photo by WCVB showed the snapped end of a skateboard in an evidence bag.
In an email, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said Wednesday morning that “while the investigation remains very much active, it does appear that the train struck a skateboard which wedged between wheels and the rail.”
Pesaturo also shared a photo showing the remnants of a skateboard in the rail.
Footage shows MBTA crews using a flamethrower and water to clear the debris from the tracks.
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The incident Tuesday comes three weeks after a Red Line train derailed while arriving at Broadway Station last month, resulting in noticeable damage to one car and cascading delays across the line. No injuries were reported in that slow-speed derailment, either.
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