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Derailment forces MBTA to take new trains out of service, repair infrastructure
March 17, 2021
There was a derailment on MBTA’s Orange Line on March 16.
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When it’s new and shiny, the last thing you want to see is dents and dings.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has pulled all of its new six-car subway trains following a derailment on March 16.
The accident happened on the Orange Line in a work zone at Wellington Station in Medford. Nobody was hurt, but officials are trying to figure out what went wrong. The train was back on the tracks and moved around 5:30 p.m., and crews inspected the infrastructure of the track.
In the 1960s, as the Interstate highways made their way through the middle of our cities, a growing number of city-dwellers rose up in protest to fight their construction. The urbanites lost many of the fights in the “freeway revolt,” but they did win several big ones, and their effort forced the rethinking of the worth of urban freeways that continues to this day.
The fight also continues, but on different terrain. This time, it’s freeway widening projects that are drawing the ire of urban advocacy groups. In both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, civic activists are pushing back against plans to widen freeways, and not just in the big cities. Meanwhile, in Texas, the Harris County government is suing to stop the widening and relocation of I-45 through the city.
MBTA to conduct safety inspections after derailment
March 17, 2021
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BOSTON (AP) The MBTA is temporarily pulling some of its newer subway cars out of service so it can conduct safety inspections after a derailment this week.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said it was pulling its next generation Orange Line cars and a six-car Red Line train out of service after Tuesday s derailment at the Wellington Station in Medford. It is at least the third time the cars will be offline since they were brought into service in August 2019, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.
A six-car train carrying 100 passengers derailed as it was moving at slow speed through a work zone and crossing from the northbound to the southbound track. No injuries were reported. The cause remains under investigation.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is cutting services to subway and bus services starting Sunday.Services on the MBTA s Red, Orange and Green lines are being cut by about 20%, while several bus routes have been stopped. Other busier MBTA bus lines, however, will see an increase in service.The MBTA has received more than a billion dollars in federal funding over the past year, and is expected to receive another $850 million from the American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden recently signed into law.Transit advocates say that the money the MBTA is saving from the latest round of cuts is minimal when compared to the federal aid coming in. The MBTA is projecting savings of just $21 million from these cuts. So they have the funds to stave off these cuts, and it s unfortunate that they re moving ahead with them, said Chris Dempsey, director of Transportation for Massachusetts.The MBTA says it is planning to eventually ease the cuts that went into effect on Sunday. Th