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Wire Problem Suspends Green Line Service During Rush Hour, Frustrating Commuters

BOSTON (CBS) – It was a rough commute for anyone taking the Green Line into Boston Tuesday morning.

The MBTA said just before 8:30 a.m. that overhead wire damage suspended Green Line service between Government Center and Kenmore Station. Major delays ensued as the T dispatched buses to take over the route.

Green Line service was restored at about 11 a.m., but not before social media lit up with complaints from frustrated commuters. Pictures and video showed a huge crowd in Kenmore Square, waiting for shuttle buses to arrive.

kenmore green line
The crowd in Kenmore Square after Green Line service was suspended Tuesday morning (Photo credit Leo Bertelli)

Riders on two trains had to walk through a subway tunnel between Arlington and Boylston stations after service stopped. No injuries were reported.

Passengers said the shuttles weren't ready and when they finally showed up, people bombarded them.

"The bus was packed. . . if God forbid the bus had to stop short, forget it," rider Elliot Ratish said.

Some directed their anger over the nightmare commute at elected officials.

The MBTA said Tuesday afternoon that the cause of the disruption was a failure of an insulator in the overhead catenary system, which had been inspected just days earlier. The last disruption due to a wire problem happened in November, according to the T.

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