Following an inbound Red Line train’s departure from Braintree Station without an operator, officials from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority held a press conference Thursday afternoon to brief the public on circumstances surrounding the incident.
At approximately 6:08 Thursday morning, the Red Line train left the station without an operator and failed to stop until MBTA Operations personnel de-powered the third rail and brought the train to a stop, a Thursday press release stated.
MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola attended the briefing and, according to the release, said passenger safety will remain an important concern following the event and will stay at the forefront in the ongoing analysis of the incident.
“Passenger safety is the highest priority for the MBTA and this highly troubling incident is under investigation by Transit Police detectives,” DePaola said in the release.
The incident, which lasted around nine minutes, involved approximately 50 passengers. The train was forced to a complete stop just north of North Quincy Station, and MBTA personnel operated the train to the JFK/UMass Station, MBTA spokesman Jason Johnson wrote in an email Thursday.
After being forced to a stop, the train was taken out of service and moved to the Red Line maintenance facility where it will be held during the investigation, according to Johnson. The train’s operator has also been placed on administrative leave. No passengers were injured.
Officials from the MBTA, Department of Public Utilities, Transit Police and the Federal Transit Administration convened Friday morning to discuss Thursday’s examination of the incident.
Johnson said officials are continuing to investigate the Red Line train’s departure and “will engage in a consolidated effort” to gather the facts of the situation.
“At this time, the focus of [the MBTA’s] investigation is primarily on operator error,” Johnson wrote. “Once the investigation is completed, we will provide a full accounting of this incident to the public.”
Johnson said the train’s lack of an operator plays a vital role in the investigation, and officials are reviewing the exact steps taken that led to the train’s departure.
“The operator requested and gained authorization to set the train on bypass, allowing it to proceed past the signal. The operator then exited the train to begin initiating that process, at which time the train proceeded out of the station without the operator,” Johnson wrote. “Immediately after the train departed, MBTA personnel notified dispatch of the situation.”
Johnson added over the phone that the transit system is working toward better communication and transparency with the public.
“The [transit system] is not just focusing on physical advancements,” Johnson said. “We welcome more communications within the organization as well as with customers and [are] working to make sure we’re letting people and customers know what is happening.”
Several residents commented that the thought of being in a train without an operator was startling.
Rosemary Toomey, 52, of Roslindale, said while she does not often ride the Red Line, it worries her to know that the recent incident happened under the MBTA’s watch.
“It was concerning to hear that the train could be leaving without a driver or someone in control,” she said. “It seems like the MBTA has a lot of cleaning up to do.”
James Kuhn, 33, of Jamaica Plain, said the MBTA does not need any more scandals.
“It was idiotic for [the MBTA] to leave a train by itself with passengers on it, and they should have been paying more attention considering how much debt they are in as it is. They don’t need any more issues,” he said. “Public transportation is kind of scary as it is.”
Marlo Jappen, 21, of Allston, said she was shocked to hear the news of the incident.
“I normally take the Green Line, but I’m still glad I wasn’t around when it happened,” she said. “I feel bad for the people involved in this. I’m just glad they’re safe and they were able to figure it out. I just can’t believe it happened.”
