Finding someone with something nice to say about the MBTA right now is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Enter former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who told Boston.com he was “just saved’’ by the MBTA. That’s right. Saved.

Here’s what happened.

Davis was in Washington D.C. on business. He awoke to find eight inches of snow on the ground, and wasn’t wowed by how the nation’s capital handled the winter weather.

Davis said he is actually a fan of the snow, but not of the extent to which it brought D.C. to a grinding halt.


“I wasn’t too impressed. You couldn’t get a cab. There was no one on the road. It was a disaster. It was terrible,’’ Davis said. “I don’t mind the snow, to be quite honest with you. I kind of like it. I like shoveling.’’

He left snow-dusted D.C. on Tuesday morning, boarding the 7 a.m. Acela Express train from D.C.’s Union Station to Boston’s South Station.

As the train approached Providence, things went downhill.

“Everything died. The train lost power completely,’’ Davis said. “Next thing you know, an MBTA commuter rail train comes up next to us. The whole Acela evacuated on a gangplank and came across to the MBTA train.’’

Davis said he spoke to the conductor, who told him that the Acela has “never evacuated to a local train before.’’

“The MBTA was pleased to offer assistance to the Amtrak customers aboard Acela,’’ said MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo. Amtrak did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Davis was surprised to be rescued by the MBTA, which has been criticized for weeks amid weather-related delays and shutdowns.

“The transportation system is just a mess right now. I have all the sympathy in the world for the people trying to manage this. But these are long term infrastructure problems,’’ Davis said.


Davis promised his story wasn’t part of some kind of guerrilla marketing campaign.

“This is not a marketing ploy. I swear,’’ Davis said. “I couldn’t believe it myself. We were saved. We were saved by the MBTA.’’