4 days ago
More than 450 MBTA riders forced to evacuate Blue Line train in tunnel
More than 450 MBTA passengers were evacuated from a Blue Line train in the tunnel under the Boston Harbor due to a signal issue Tuesday afternoon.
The MBTA says it was caused by a downed communication line that happened between Maverick and Aquarium on the Blue Line at about 2:30 p.m.
"As we were passing another train there was a bright flash of light," passenger Jadan Wenceslao said. "Lots of like scraping noises. Then you could see a cable that goes along the top of the train it's just hanging off the side of the window."
Passengers on the train were stuck on board for nearly two hours and then had to walk through the tunnel to an emergency exit.
"They had us walk out the back, and then we walked down the tracks," passenger Hayden Green said.
Boston firefighters, EMS and Transit Police escorted approximately 465 riders off the train. No injuries were reported, according to the MBTA.
Shuttle buses replaced service between the airport and Government Center. Regular service resumed at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
Passengers described a stressful and dark journey through the tunnel.
"I was pretty nervous because it all went dark, it was pretty hot," said passenger Sage Soto. "I had to get to work so I was real stressed about that too and it took us almost like two hours for us to leave the train."
The MBTA issued a statement apologizing for the delays. The cause of the issue is under investigation.
