Statement on the Orange Line

During a recent routine inspection of an Orange Line vehicle, an Engineer identified a failure in a power cable that may have created some electrical arcing with a nearby train axle.

The MBTA has inspected all Orange Line vehicles to determine if this issue appears in other cars.

To date, the MBTA has identified nine cars where some arcing appears to have occurred and have removed all of the impacted cars for repairs including the replacement of the axles. A total of 11 axles across these nine cars have been impacted.

MBTA and CRRC engineers continue to investigate the root cause of this condition and the maintenance team is implementing an enhanced inspection program until the permanent repairs are completed.

As the MBTA continues its inspections and performs necessary repairs, Orange Line riders will continue to experience longer headways of about 15 minutes between trains. The T apologizes for these inconveniences.

Riders are encouraged to subscribe to T-Alerts or to follow the MBTA on Twitter for up-to-date service information.

The T will provide further updates later today.