BOSTON (WHDH) - All MBTA Red Line trains will be free Tuesday afternoon after a piece of maintenance equipment derailed, causing major delays during the morning commute, officials announced.
The MBTA said the derailment happened shortly before 5 a.m. on the northbound track at Park Street station.
In their latest update Tuesday afternoon, the T said station fare gates will be open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“We apologize to our riders affected by this morning’s incident involving a piece of track maintenance equipment,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “…While this does not make up for your experiences this morning, we’re committed to continuously improving everything we do. This is our duty because we care about the public that we serve.”
Tuesday’s incident damaged the third rail at Park Street, requiring more repair work after crews re-railed and removed the maintenance equipment.
In an update shortly before 10 a.m., MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said repairs were complete and power was being restored. The T said trains were up and running again by 10:10 a.m.
Before service resumed, shuttle buses replaced trains between Harvard and Broadway stations. Large crowds of commuters were seen in Harvard Square waiting for buses and some people expressed their frustration to 7NEWS.
“It’s infuriating,” said commuter Rob Johnston. “What other service are you expected to pay full price for that just breaks down this consistently?”
“Something needs to change,” Johnston continued. “I’m going to be late for work. It’s like 90 degrees outside. It’s frustrating.”
“There were a lot of people just streaming onto the shuttle buses,” said one other person in Harvard Square. “There’s nothing much I can do about it but it is kind of frustrating, for sure.”
The T said the equipment that derailed was being moved in preparation for an upcoming 16-day partial service shutdown along the Red Line.
The shutdown is scheduled to begin on July 13 and continue until July 28.
“It was chaos and they were dealt kind of a bad hand. All those people out there, some trying to get a bus, some trying to get an Uber,” said rider Rob Sharkey.
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