Local News

Another ‘near miss’: Workers on the Orange Line narrowly avoided oncoming train

Workers on the Orange Line had to retreat into niches in the tunnel wall to avoid an oncoming train, which the MBTA is calling a "near miss."

An Orange Line train to Oak Grove stops at a station. Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe, File

March 14, 2024

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The MBTA reported another “near miss” when workers on the Orange Line were almost struck by a train earlier this month, safety officers told the MBTA Board of Directors Thursday.

Nancy Prominski, Deputy Chief Safety Officer detailed three safety incidents to board members during the MBTA’s Safety, Health & Environmental Subcommittee meeting.

Prominski and General Manager Phillip Eng described how a derailed Green Line train at Kenmore affected service for hours last Saturday and how a downed Amtrak wire affected Orange Line service the same day.

The third incident was when workers on the Orange Line had to retreat into niches in the tunnel wall to avoid an oncoming train, which the MBTA is “considering a near miss,” Prominski said.

Around 10:20 a.m. on March 1, workers were on the right of way between Tufts Medical Center and Chinatown when a train operator committed a “procedural violation.”

Prominski told board members that there was an advanced mobile flagger system in place, which provided the train operator with the information about the track work ahead at the previous station. There were no injuries because the workers were able to get to safety in time.

“The work crews safely positioned themselves within the niches in the walls which are actually little cutouts within the tunnel walls that are designed for people to seek safe haven,” Prominski said. The niches are industry-standard safety measures, she told the board when they asked if they were MBTA-specific.

In the past year, the MBTA has reported multiple dangerously close incidents involving workers. There were four near-misses in 2023 right before Eng took office. In December, the T reported a worker injury and near miss with an electrified third-rail. In January, a Green Line train almost hit a worker.

MBTA officials said the workers reported the March 1 Orange Line incident immediately, and the investigation is ongoing. Eng said he’s seeing a “culture shift” at the MBTA.

“The employees are seeing that by reporting things, management is taking a much more hands-on approach to solving these problems sooner,” he said.