This Morning’s Green Line Derailment Was Caused by Operator Error

The operator was hired in March.

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Update: According to MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo, “The preliminary investigation shows the train’s operator did not have the signal system’s authorization to proceed…The train’s operator, who was hired in March of this year, has been removed from service while investigators complete their work.”

Previously:

Sorry, Green Line riders: it’s your turn again.

This morning, a D branch train derailed at the Riverside stop in Newton shortly after 6 a.m. At the time, there was only one passenger aboard the train, who was uninjured by the incident.

MBTA personnel are currently investigating and working to re-rail the car. The cause of the derailment is unknown.

“Once the train is back on the rails and has been returned to the Riverside rail yard, there will be an inspection of the right-of-way infrastructure,” MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo says in an email to Boston.

In the meantime, buses are replacing Green Line service between Riverside and Newton Highlands. Delays, as usual, should be expected.

This is the second Green Line derailment we’ve seen this summer. The first, on a Saturday in June, occurred due to operator error. That incident, which occurred between Fenway and Kenmore two hours before the first pitch of a Red Sox game, sent 11 people to the hospital.

Of course, the Green Line isn’t the only branch that has had a tough few months. The Red Line epically derailed in June, causing damage that will take months to repair and inflicting delays upon commuters until October.

MBTA trains have derailed over 40 times in the past five years, the second-highest number of derailments of any major U.S. public transit system. Today’s derailment was the sixth of the year, officially outnumbering 2018’s year-long total of five.