Nearly $4B to be spent on MBTA improvements
Agency investigates Orange Line incident
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is investigating after passengers on an Orange Line train were forced to break windows to escape after smoke filled the train.
The chaos was caught on cellphone cameras Wednesday by passengers trying to escape smoke inside the train at Back Bay Station.
Riders pushed out windows because the doors remained closed. The MBTA operator did not open doors, keeping passengers from stepping on the live third rail.
"I could smell the brakes, and it started filling up with smoke,” one passenger said.
The MBTA said a motor overheated, touching off a trash fire on the rails. No one was seriously injured.
“I just happened to watch it as it was unfolding,” Boston City Council President Michelle Wu said.
Wu is a regular T rider. She said the incident is an example of how the MBTA is not addressing the community's needs.
“We need to have major investments in the T, even if our current capacity ran smoothly, which is not often the case, we would still not be serving the needs of residents in the city,” Wu said.
The MBTA Board has approved billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements.
Nearly $4 billion is set for capital projects over the next five years. That includes $1.6 billion on new trains and buses and $1 billion on improvements to tracks, signals and power.
The capital spending plan also means new Orange and Red Line trains to replace a fleet that is about four decades old.
After Wednesday’s incident, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh wants to speak to the governor about ways to improve the T.
“At some point we need a large capital investment. There are only a couple of ways you can do it. We need to take a look at it on a tax front,” he said.