MBTA says Worcester line back on track
Photo | Grant Welker
Commuter rail passengers prepare for boarding a train to Boston at Worcester's Union Station.
Commuters on the MBTA’s Framingham/Worcester Line can breathe a sigh of relief.
The T said crews have made progress toward permanent fixes to the commuter rail’s Worcester-to-Boston line, including repairs to the main track.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said some additional track repairs are continuing to restore a crossing damaged during a derailment. While not critical to restoring regular service on the Worcester Line, having it operational allows for additional resiliency during bad weather, Poftak said in a statement.
Crews from Keolis, the T’s operating partner, repaired tracks damaged when a train derailed in an upright position at a low speed on Dec. 26 near Lansdowne Station in Boston.
Since the incident, crews have worked day and overnight shifts to quickly repair rail, rail ties, switches and other track infrastructure that was damaged when one coach car derailed, the T said.
Following the incident, the T, Keolis, and the Federal Railroad Administration investigation found the tracks were in working order before the incident. Initial findings suggested the train crew allowed the incident train to pass through a switch when it was not properly aligned.
No passengers were on board the coach car that derailed, and there were no injuries to passengers or train crews. It appears human error was the contributing cause, the T and Keolis said. As a result, they enhanced crew training, strengthened communications between crews and dispatchers, and inspect similar systems across the network.
In addition, several additional actions have already been taken. A special instruction to all commuter rail train crews was issued to boost awareness of the rules governing manual switch operations. The maintenance records for the track infrastructure involved in the derailment have been reviewed and all required maintenance was completed appropriately, and Keolis and T crews are inspecting all systems on similar track infrastructure across the network, they said.
Keolis and the T said they plan to enhance training for conductors and engineers, including additional hands-on switch training and an expanded skills assessment program on-trains and utilizing a new Keolis-T simulator. Keolis and the T installed a practice switch in 2017 for training and built a locomotive simulator at the T facility in Somerville.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments