Members of the media tour a then-new Orange Line train at the MBTA's Wellington maintenance facility in August 2019. State House News Service photo / File
Orange Line riders should expect slow commutes with gaps of about 15 minutes between trains after the MBTA pulled nine cars from service because of unexpected “electrical arcing,” the agency announced Friday.
MBTA spokesperson Lisa Battiston said in a statement shortly before 2:30 p.m. that a T engineer “identified a failure in a power cable that may have created some electrical arcing with a nearby train axle.” Battiston later said the inspection took place “earlier this week.”
After examining all other Orange Line vehicles, Battiston said the MBTA identified nine cars affected by electrical arcing and removed them from service for repairs, which will include axle replacement. A total of 11 axles across the nine cars have been affected, Battiston said.
Battiston did not describe a reason for the electrical issue, saying that engineers for both the T and for Chinese firm CRRC, which manufactured the newest Orange Line trains, “continue to investigate the root cause of this condition.” The MBTA will deploy “an enhanced inspection program” until repairs are complete, she said.
“As the MBTA continues its inspections and performs necessary repairs, Orange Line riders will continue to experience longer headways of about 15 minutes between trains,” Battiston said. “The T apologizes for these inconveniences.”
The announcement came shortly after the Boston Globe reported that the T had cut Orange Line service by nearly half in recent days without notifying riders about a reason for the change.
Later on Friday evening, the MBTA announced the inspection in question “identified a failure in an electrical grounding component” on an Orange Line train.
With the vehicles removed, the T is now operating eight Orange Line train sets, or 48 total cars. That’s two full train sets, or 12 cars, below the number called for in the T’s schedule.
“As the MBTA continues its inspections and performs necessary repairs, Orange Line riders will continue to experience longer headways,” the T said.
