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Commuter Rail Service On Fairmount Line Resumes After Trains Derail

BOSTON (CBS) - The MBTA says commuter rail service is back up and running on the Fairmount line after two trains derailed, shutting down the line for the Wednesday morning commute.

An out of service train leaving a maintenance yard bumped into a Fairmount train just outside South Station around 8 p.m. Tuesday. The low-speed crash caused three coach cars to derail.

fairmount train derails mbta commuter rail
The Fairmount train derailed Tuesday night. (WBZ-TV)

No one was hurt. There were four commuters on the Fairmount train and no passengers on the other train.

MBTA and Keolis crews are looking into what caused the derailment.

"The initial findings from this investigation indicate human error was likely a factor," Justin Thompson, a spokesman for Keolis which runs the commuter rail, told WBZ-TV. "It appears that the out of service train did not adhere to a properly displayed red signal, which instructs the crew to stop and not proceed past a point. The involved train crew is currently not in service."

A crane was brought in to re-rail the coach cars overnight and all morning service on the Fairmount line was cancelled. The re-railing process was finished just after 8 a.m., but it took several hours to assess the damage to the tracks.

A bus shuttle ran at every station between Readville and South Station for passengers during the repairs.

"I just found out myself that there was a derailment and I couldn't take my train today so I had to come and catch this bus," one man told WBZ-TV. "There was a lot of confusion and now I'm actually late for school."

Many student riders were especially happy to hear that service had resumed. "I like the train better, it's faster. On the bus, it's more crowded and stuff. It's just bad," one said.

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