Local News

MBTA offers free subway rides after disastrous morning commute

The subway will be free to ride Thursday evening after a morning power outage disrupted the Green, Orange, and Blue lines.

Passengers walk through the turnstiles below a train arrival clock at the Massachusetts Avenue Orange Line MBTA station in Boston. Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe, File

By Abby Patkin

February 15, 2024

1 minute to read

The MBTA made a peace offering to weary T riders Thursday, granting several hours of free subway fare after a power outage resulted in a disastrous morning commute.

“In response to the power issues this morning that interrupted commutes on the Blue, Green, and Orange Lines, the MBTA will be opening all subway fare gates today between 3pm-7pm,” the agency said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “We apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate our riders’ patience.”

Previously:

The outage started around 6:30 a.m., and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng pinned the blame on one of seven main cables that feeds power to the North Station substation.

Speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, he said the cable in question is seven miles long. The failure happened outside the MBTA’s internal infrastructure, and the T is still looking to identify a cause, according to Eng.

“But at the same time, I understand regardless of the cause, it impacts our riders,” he said.

When that cable failed, it triggered a power outage that impacted signals and stations across all three subway lines. To keep trains running without signals, the T placed hundreds of workers throughout the system to direct trains manually, Eng explained.

Crews restored power to the Green and Blue lines by 9:20 a.m., and the T reported at 10:42 a.m. that regular service was underway on all three impacted lines.

Stressing the need to build public confidence in the T, Eng acknowledged the frustration and inconvenience riders felt during the power outage.

“It’s part of riding the T,” he acknowledged, “but we’re going to make those situations fewer and further apart, because reliability, safety, and communication is going to be part of us moving forward.”