Posted on 12/10/2015 7:40:43 AM PST by outpostinmass2
BOSTON - The MBTA says it has found evidence suggesting that someone tampered with a safety device in a rush-hour Red Line train that left the Braintree station with passengers aboard but no operator at the helm.
The T says the train, which left Braintree a little after 6 a.m., passed through the four Quincy stations without stopping before crews were able to bring it to a stop just past the North Quincy station by de-powered the electrified third rail. The train was then moved to the JFK/UMass station and passengers were asked to exit.
The T said no passengers were injured, but did not say how many were aboard at the time. Michael Verseckes, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said the agency would provide updates as more information becomes available.
In a statement, MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola called the incident "highly troubling" and said it was under investigation by transit police. The T says investigators have already found evidence suggesting that someone tampered with a safety device in the train's cab.
Officials are interviewing "several people," including the train's operator, Gov. Charlie Baker said on Boston Herald Radio. Baker said multiple times that the train had been tampered with but said he couldn't go into details because the investigation was ongoing.
"This train was tampered with, and it was tampered with by someone who knows what he was doing," Baker said.
"This was an isolated incident, a tampered train, tampered by someone, and we'll get to the bottom of it, and I'm sure we'll have more to say about it shortly," the governor said. "Hopefully by the end of the day."
The T released information about the incident just after 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Early in the morning, it had said the Red Line was experiencing "severe" delays as crews moved a disabled train near North Quincy Station, but did not say why.
That’s my first guess. A disgruntled Muslim employee who knew how to defeat a dead man switch.
The train operators probably found the safety features annoying, and disabled them. This sort of thing often happens.
Just another reason I don’t do public transportation. You are at the mercy of the cause of the day. They are often number one targets of anyone looking to make a point.
Totally agree.
And then the doors closed, brakes released, and accelerator was engaged? Too many steps.
I think I’ve seen that movie.
Braintree 1,2,3
filmed in Pelham
“And the train conductor says,
Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
we’ve been on this shift too long”
Did he ever return?
No he never returned,
And his fate is still unlearn’d.
He may ride forever ‘neath the streets of Boston,
He’s the man who never returned.
Just another reason I don’t do public transportation. You are at the mercy of the cause of the day. They are often number one targets of anyone looking to make a point.
Maybe, but easier to thwart. In this case the power to the line was shutoff. When black lives matter chained themselves to concrete blocks in the middle of the highway everyone in a car was at mercy.
Wut? PING?.....
I avoid putting my life in the hands of a disgruntled union public employee whenever possible.
Not a very high percentage play.
Most train problems in the US are due to negligence by union employees.
I’ll be putting my name into this organization’s lottery at the end of the year!
With some luck I’ll be driving an MBTA train a year from now.
But I am shooting for the Blue Line trains not the Red.
I agree with you on this. This sounds more like stupidity than terrorism. The FBI would be all over this if there was an inkling of terror.
The first question I would ask is who’s contracts are up next, and who recently got fired/demoted.
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