Door Torn Off Green Line Trolley Near Park Street Station
BOSTON (CBS) - A Green Line inspector is facing disciplinary action by the MBTA as a result of an early morning problem with the doors on one of the system's trolleys.
Just after 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, part of a trolley's four-panel door came loose as the car approached the Park Street station. The door was torn off by the interior of the tunnel, as curious and frightened passengers on board looked on.
The inspector in question failed to "ensure that the trolley door was secured in the closed position," according to T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. "Because of his failure to follow established procedures, a segment of the door dislodged after making contact with a part of the subway infrastructure," Pesaturo said.
"The trolley was about to come out of service at Park Station due to earlier mechanical problems," Pesaturo added.
Passengers confirm for WBZ that this particular trolley's troubles had started at least a few stops earlier.
"From the moment I got on at Copley, the door was not shutting properly," explained commuter Rebecca Strong. "Which I look back on and think, oh, that was an issue to begin with. It just wouldn't close, so they had a worker manually holding it closed."
As the train made its way into Park Street, commuter Brittany Bang said it was clear there were problems. "You could hear glass shattering and you could just really hear them get completely, with a really loud noise, get ripped off," Bang said.
"We were just lucky that everyone wasn't completely jam-packed because a lot of people could have been hurt," Bang continued. "People just had enough room to jump back, stand back from the doors."
No one was hurt, but the incident made for some scary moments.
"And I think that's the biggest concern that ever flashed through my head is, after the doors were ripped off, we were still moving," Bang said.
All the passengers left the train at Park Street. The trolley has been impounded at a Green Line maintenance facility, where the MBTA says they will conduct a full investigation.
Added spokesman Pesaturo: "The 27-year old trolley [involved in this morning's incident] is among the 86 Green Line trolleys that will be rebuilt over the next two years."
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