MBTA withdraws all new Orange and Red Line trains from service to troubleshoot braking problem

MBTA officials pulled all new Orange Line and Red Line trains from service Thursday after one train encountered a problem at North Boston Station. One train was disrupted at Wellington station earlier in the day. “The new Orange Line train encountered a problem with one of the train’s multiple brake units,” MBTA wrote in a statement. Officials said the problem never put passengers or staff at risk, but that the trains were proactively removed from service while teams moved the problem. Stefan Winch, co-chair of the MBTA Racer Supervisory Committee, said pulling the trains was the right move, and Winch said he was not surprised that new cars were out of service again. “When you have a completely new design, there’s going to be a hiatus.” While 6 new cars are operating for the Red Line, the transit agency is in the process of accepting 10 more new Orange Line train cars and 4 Red Line cars. Video: Sky 5 shows dozens of MBTA train cars parked in Wellington Square in the process of troubleshooting, MBTA officials said Orange Line will continue with older trains. Passengers were warned that waiting times at station platforms could be “a little longer” with trains arriving approximately every 8 1/2 minutes on Thursday afternoon. New trains have been taken out of service many times before. Wellington station has caused all new vehicles on the orange line to be pulled from the tracks for about five months. In 2019, it was temporarily withdrawn from service to replace door components and again after engineers noticed unexpected noises coming from the vehicle’s underside. Other cars running on the orange line originally ran from 1979 to 1981.

Cheryl Riley

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