Rainy weather and a Red Line train derailment threw a wrench into Saturday morning's commute, leaving Bostonians with prolonged travel times and a bus ride in place of the usual subway service. According to NBC Boston, the incident occurred near Broadway as the train was switching tracks during a scheduled diversion for the Dorchester Avenue bridge project. Fortunately, there were neither passengers on board at the time nor any reported injuries.
Disgruntled commuters were met with shuttle buses replacing Red Line service between Park Street and Ashmont, and also between Park Street and North Quincy, bogging down their Saturday plans. An irked commuter vented to NBC Boston, "I don't understand why this has taken so long to fix the safety issues and the track issues. It's gone on for the last four years!" The MBTA workers were on scene, investigating the derailment, but an immediate answer to the snafu that upended the morning was not forthcoming.
The MBTA moved swiftly to alert the public, posting a notice on X, indicating the extension of the shuttle services due to the mishap at Broadway. Service resumed later that afternoon, restoring a semblance of normalcy as the weekend trudged on.
Red Line Reminder: March 23-24 (This Weekend)
— MBTA (@MBTA) March 23, 2024
Shuttle Buses replace service between Broadway and Ashmont & Broadway and North Quincy for bridge work & station maintenance.
Express shuttles will replace @MBTA_CR service between Braintree and South Station as well. pic.twitter.com/iIuWCRKvUd
While the investigation into the cause of the derailment is ongoing, the MBTA assured there was no immediate threat to public safety, as cited by Boston 25 News. Meanwhile, Bostonians are left to hope that the reliability of their transit system does not derail amidst ongoing concerns and unexpected disruptions.
