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MBTA safety officer details recent incidents that saw train doors close on riders
The MBTA is putting up signage to remind passengers to be safe around the doors, and operators are being reminded of door safety.
Outdated trains have left the MBTA facing safety concerns after multiple incidents involving doors on the Green and Red Line, officials told the MBTA Board of Directors Thursday.
MBTA Chief Safety Officer Tim Lesniak discussed a recent incident that saw a passenger’s leg get stuck in a Green Line train door at Medford/Tufts. He said the door did not immediately reopen because the car was shut down to change directions.
“While this situation is concerning, due to the design of the car, once either control stand was brought back live, the sensitive edge on the door would note the obstruction and reopen,” he said.
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Lesniak said that in December, two people’s backpack straps were caught in Red Line car doors. The people in both cases were inside the train holding their bags while the straps were outside the train.
In another Red Line incident last month, a contractor got their hand stuck in a Red Line door while trying to catch a departing train. He said the door did not register their hand as an obstruction but the person was still able to remove their hand easily.
T official: recent incidents are different from 2022 Red Line death
In 2022, a man was killed after being dragged by his arm when it was caught in a Red Line train door at Broadway.
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“While these events are concerning, they’re quite different from the incident at Broadway in April of 2022,” Lesniak said of the more recent instances of people being struck by T doors. “Here, there were no mechanical defects observed in any of these incidents and at no time was the individual at risk of getting dragged.”
A ‘near miss’ on the Green Line
Lesniak also reported a “near miss” at Medford/Tufts on Jan. 8, when a train departed after signal personnel were granted access to enter the right of way. There were no injuries, and the train did not hit anyone.
“As of right now, it has been determined that the dispatcher did everything correctly,” he said. “However, route select button was selected at Medford, which provided a green signal.”
He said the events are under investigation by federal officials. The MBTA is putting up signage to remind passengers to be safe around the doors, and operators are being reminded of door safety.
Overall, door incidents in 2023 occurred at about the same rate as in 2022, Lesniak told the MBTA Board of Directors. Both years are about 50% less than the incidents reported before the pandemic, he said.
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