Track Issue Caused Red Line Service Suspension

Updated on February 23, 2018

BOSTON—On Wednesday, February 21, at approximately 9:20 AM, a northbound Red Line train approaching Andrew Station experienced an issue that led to the derailment of the last car of the 6-car train.

During the incident, the last car of the train rerailed itself as it entered Andrew Station before stopping. Once stopped at Andrew, customers safely unloaded from the train; the train was immediately taken out of service and exited the station under its own power.

MBTA personnel are investigating all aspects of this occurrence, which includes a thorough inspection of the track, third rail, and the entire train’s equipment and components involved. An initial assessment found that approximately 300 feet of third rail was damaged as a result of this incident. When the train arrived at Andrew Station, the train operator reported an indication of a motor failure in the last car of the 6-car train.

"This is a serious incident, and we want our customers to know that our top priority is to operate a safe system for our customers," said T General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez. "While we realize this is a significant inconvenience to our customers, the Red Line will remain closed between Broadway and JFK until it is safe to resume service. Until then, our team continues to assess the damage, and make necessary repairs, while working to identify the root cause."

The MBTA worked to resume regular Red Line service as quickly and safely as possible and apologized to its customers for the service disruption.

During the disruption, bus shuttle service operated in both directions, stopping at Broadway, Andrew, and JFK/UMass. The MBTA encouraged customers to consider an alternate transit mode if possible to avoid crowding and delays.

Because of the disruption in service, the MBTA also encouraged customers to use the Middleborough/Lakeville, Kingston/Plymouth, and Greenbush Commuter Rail train options, which accommodated Red Line passengers as needed:

All inbound and outbound Kingston and Middleborough Line trains stopped at JFK/UMass, Quincy Center, and Braintree.
All inbound and outbound Greenbush Line trains will stop at JFK/UMass and Quincy Center. Note: Greenbush line trains did not stop at Braintree, as it is on a different route.

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