An Orange Line train passenger jumped off a bridge into the Mystic River and dozens of other passengers evacuated through the windows of the MBTA train after it caught on fire on a bridge in Somerville, Massachusetts.Smoke could be seen billowing from the train that was stopped on the Dana Bridge shortly before 7 a.m. Video from inside one of the train’s cars showed passengers climbing out of windows and jumping to the tracks below. MBTA GM Steve Poftak said it appears a metal sill that runs along the base of the train that was put into service in January 1980 came loose on car 1251 and made contact with the third rail. Sparks ignited material that was on the underside of the train.“There were noises like bangs. You could see flames outside of the windows. The flames were coming up. You could smell burning. There was smoke getting into the car. A gentleman that was next to me got off. He was pulling the latch. He was trying to open the emergency exit. It just would not budge. Like, he’s kicking it and people are trying to help him,” rider Jennifer Thomson said. About 200 people were on the train at the time of the incident. Several passengers evacuated through four windows on the train that were removed.”Obviously, this is a very frightening event and not the service that the MBTA wants to provide,” Poftak said. “It is these types of incidents that we are working to prevent and avoid every day.”Passenger Aubrey Charles said a woman panicked and jumped off the bridge into the river. Rescue crews were able to rescue the woman, who was in the water. Officials said she declined medical attention.“We were in the car in the middle, and the train stopped right past Wellington on the bridge. There were billows of smoke, and everybody started panicking. They told us to move to the back of the train, where they had a ladder and they evacuated us and walked us back to Wellington, but some people were getting off between the cars and jumping out the windows,” Aubrey Charles said. “That was probably the most disturbing part to me. It was a bigger drop than you would think. By the time we got to the third or fourth car, I hear a woman scream behind me and she is like, ‘No, no. Don’t jump!’ Then we look out into the river and there is this woman swimming around. People were like, what is happening. Are we going to make it home today?” Thomson said.Nick Andreucci was in the front car of the Orange Line train, as smoke and fire consumed the window next to where he was sitting. “Once he got past Wellington, it wasn’t a normal thing you were feeling,” Andreucci said. “When you started seeing it and smelling it, you’re like, ‘Okay this is serious now.'””You started hearing someone say fire, then one guy started panicking, so he tried to get out the back door, the back door was locked,” Andreucci said. “He immediately went to the window, took two kicks, took the window out, he jumped, I jumped, other passengers jumped.”Passengers said there was some confusion during the incident.”The first 10 minutes was pretty tense because we didn’t hear anything over the speakers. There was no MBTA personnel. Everyone was just looking around, and we could all see smell the smoke and see the smoke,” passenger Erin Marx said.Passengers were seen walking on the tracks to get to the closest train station. No injuries were reported.”Flames and smoke were observed on the head car of a southbound Orange Line train approaching Assembly Station. Power was turned off between Wellington and Assembly and the Somerville and Medford Fire Departments responded,” Poftak said.Poftak said the train was last inspected on June 23, and the sill was inspected as part of the process. The MBTA warned of delays near the Assembly Station and used shuttle buses to replace service between the Oak Grove and Community College stations for about four hours. The train was brought back to Wellington car house, where MBTA officials could be seen inspecting a charred area of the head car. “The MBTA Track and Power Departments are at the incident location inspecting infrastructure. The MBTA has notified the FTA and the NTSB of the incident,” Poftak said. “If someone dies on the T, they cannot pretend like they did not know this was coming, because, that was a nightmare,” Thomson said.Last month, new Orange Line trains were pulled from service after an out-of-range battery temperature reading caused the battery to overcharge for an extended duration and fail. In May, a braking issue caused one of the new Orange Line trains to become disabled.One year ago, a derailment at Wellington Station caused all of the new vehicles on the Orange Line to be pulled off the tracks for about five months.Earlier this week, the MBTA said it would need millions of dollars to address safety concerns highlighted in a Federal Transportation Administration report. Among the issues identified by the FTA were backlogs of thousands of known defects related to the rail infrastructure, including a stretch of the Orange Line that has been under a speed restriction since 2019 because of excessive wear and defects.MBTA officials said that 500 feet of new track were installed on the southbound tracks between Back Bay and Massachusetts Avenue stations on July 10, allowing a partial relaxation of the speed restriction. Approximately 1,000 feet still need to be replaced before train speeds can return to normal.Video Below: ‘Everybody started panicking:’ Riders describe Orange Line train fire
An Orange Line train passenger jumped off a bridge into the Mystic River and dozens of other passengers evacuated through the windows of the MBTA train after it caught on fire on a bridge in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Smoke could be seen billowing from the train that was stopped on the Dana Bridge shortly before 7 a.m. Video from inside one of the train’s cars showed passengers climbing out of windows and jumping to the tracks below.
MBTA GM Steve Poftak said it appears a metal sill that runs along the base of the train that was put into service in January 1980 came loose on car 1251 and made contact with the third rail. Sparks ignited material that was on the underside of the train.
“There were noises like bangs. You could see flames outside of the windows. The flames were coming up. You could smell burning. There was smoke getting into the car. A gentleman that was next to me got off. He was pulling the latch. He was trying to open the emergency exit. It just would not budge. Like, he’s kicking it and people are trying to help him,” rider Jennifer Thomson said.
About 200 people were on the train at the time of the incident. Several passengers evacuated through four windows on the train that were removed.
“Obviously, this is a very frightening event and not the service that the MBTA wants to provide,” Poftak said. “It is these types of incidents that we are working to prevent and avoid every day.”
Passenger Aubrey Charles said a woman panicked and jumped off the bridge into the river. Rescue crews were able to rescue the woman, who was in the water. Officials said she declined medical attention.
“We were in the car in the middle, and the train stopped right past Wellington on the bridge. There were billows of smoke, and everybody started panicking. They told us to move to the back of the train, where they had a ladder and they evacuated us and walked us back to Wellington, but some people were getting off between the cars and jumping out the windows,” Aubrey Charles said.
“That was probably the most disturbing part to me. It was a bigger drop than you would think. By the time we got to the third or fourth car, I hear a woman scream behind me and she is like, ‘No, no. Don’t jump!’ Then we look out into the river and there is this woman swimming around. People were like, what is happening. Are we going to make it home today?” Thomson said.
Nick Andreucci was in the front car of the Orange Line train, as smoke and fire consumed the window next to where he was sitting.
“Once he got past Wellington, it wasn’t a normal thing you were feeling,” Andreucci said. “When you started seeing it and smelling it, you’re like, ‘Okay this is serious now.'”
“You started hearing someone say fire, then one guy started panicking, so he tried to get out the back door, the back door was locked,” Andreucci said. “He immediately went to the window, took two kicks, took the window out, he jumped, I jumped, other passengers jumped.”
Passengers said there was some confusion during the incident.
“The first 10 minutes was pretty tense because we didn’t hear anything over the speakers. There was no MBTA personnel. Everyone was just looking around, and we could all see smell the smoke and see the smoke,” passenger Erin Marx said.
Passengers were seen walking on the tracks to get to the closest train station. No injuries were reported.
“Flames and smoke were observed on the head car of a southbound Orange Line train approaching Assembly Station. Power was turned off between Wellington and Assembly and the Somerville and Medford Fire Departments responded,” Poftak said.
Poftak said the train was last inspected on June 23, and the sill was inspected as part of the process.
The MBTA warned of delays near the Assembly Station and used shuttle buses to replace service between the Oak Grove and Community College stations for about four hours.
The train was brought back to Wellington car house, where MBTA officials could be seen inspecting a charred area of the head car.
“The MBTA Track and Power Departments are at the incident location inspecting infrastructure. The MBTA has notified the FTA and the NTSB of the incident,” Poftak said.
“If someone dies on the T, they cannot pretend like they did not know this was coming, because, that was a nightmare,” Thomson said.
Last month, new Orange Line trains were pulled from service after an out-of-range battery temperature reading caused the battery to overcharge for an extended duration and fail. In May, a braking issue caused one of the new Orange Line trains to become disabled.
One year ago, a derailment at Wellington Station caused all of the new vehicles on the Orange Line to be pulled off the tracks for about five months.
Earlier this week, the MBTA said it would need millions of dollars to address safety concerns highlighted in a Federal Transportation Administration report.
Among the issues identified by the FTA were backlogs of thousands of known defects related to the rail infrastructure, including a stretch of the Orange Line that has been under a speed restriction since 2019 because of excessive wear and defects.
MBTA officials said that 500 feet of new track were installed on the southbound tracks between Back Bay and Massachusetts Avenue stations on July 10, allowing a partial relaxation of the speed restriction. Approximately 1,000 feet still need to be replaced before train speeds can return to normal.
Video Below: ‘Everybody started panicking:’ Riders describe Orange Line train fire
