Members of the media and dignitaries examine the first of 152 Orange Line cars to arrive at the MBTA's Wellington yard at a public ceremony in mid-2019. State House News Service File Photo.

State House News Service Photo

The MBTA on Tuesday morning announced it has pulled all of its new Orange Line trains out of service.

“Inspectors identified a fault with the bolsters which is being corrected to ensure the vehicles are reliable & safe for the duration of their service lives,” the transit authority tweeted. “We expect to return them to service later this week.”

Bolsters are a central part of the train’s main wheel assemblies, called bogies or trucks. The trains had previously been removed from service temporarily to fix uneven wear on a pad that sat in between the trains’ bodies and their trucks.

It’s the latest setback for the T, which has long been beset by service and maintenance problems and budget deficits, and the latest problem to surface with the new train sets.

Last August, the MBTA began introducing new Orange Line trains, part of a larger plan to roll out 152 new cars to completely replace and expand a fleet that at the time was comprised of 120 cars.

T officials didn’t say how many trains were pulled from service on Tuesday; a spokeswoman was unavailable to offer additional specifics about the problem or impacts on service.

The Massachusetts House plans to debate legislation Wednesday raising taxes and fees, in part to improve the MBTA.

MBTA Pulls All New Orange Line Trains Off the Tracks

by State House News Service time to read: 1 min
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