Another Red Line train conks out; riders have to stand there and pout

That's why the Blue Line- Red Line connector was never built. With that trains would enter higher levels of topology and disappear.

I was in the first car (01818) and there was no smell. The blue lights were on on the last two cars, so maybe there was a fault there. The train had no problem pulling out of the station, although it was delayed for several minutes while a T cop and inspector walked the train to assure there was no one on board. The train seemed to have no problem leaving the station, but I guess we're taking these sorts of precautions now? During winter '15 trains regularly ran down a couple traction motors; I would assume this train could have at least made it to Ashmont, or at least to JFK where it could have been terminated (with fewer on board) for a trip to the Cabot shops.

As it was, the next train was right behind, and was (barely) able to accommodate everyone, but a few may have been left behind at Central. Lucky it was 9:45 and not 8:45. So only a 10-12 minute delay for everyone, rather than have stations full for half an hour. The T handled it pretty well, all things considered. Some suggestions:

• Treat passengers like adults. Rather than saying "we're being held" and then "this train is going out of service" tell it like it is. "This train is being held to diagnose a problem with a traction motor" then "this train is being taken out of service as a precaution. Please board the train directly behind." Rather than just saying "out of service" because then nerds like me who know about the causes are more likely to B&M on twitter. Once I saw the blue lights I figured there actually was some sort of fault. Even these new cars (the 01800s) are more than 20 years old with millions of miles, the new cars can't come soon enough.
• Figure out a better protocol to assure a train is empty of passengers when it's taken out of service. This happens enough that it shouldn't be too hard. As it was, it took three employees (operator, inspector, TPD officer) several minutes to clear the train. Close the doors, assign a crew member to each two cars, when clear pull the train out.
• For god's sake, get rid of the non-specific T alerts. "Delays due to disabled train at Harvard." First of all: which direction? Second of all: how bad? For instance: "inbound passengers between Porter and Broadway should a 10-15 minute service gap due to a disabled train at Harvard" gives just a little more information, doesn't it?
• Consider running the next train express to Park. I believe at that point there were two trains queued up between Porter and Harvard. If the first went express to Park anyone going downtown gets a ride basically as fast as normal, everyone else is maybe 2 minutes delayed but on a much less crowded train. Doesn't work at peak rush hour, when the next train is full, but might work at shoulders and non-peak times.

As for the passengers, other than a bit of confusion from some tourists, everyone seemed to figure things out. One suggestion: if you're boarding a crowded train and going one stop with the doors on the same side, wait for everyone else to get on, then get on and stand by the door. I saw one dude have to push himself out at Central. He had plenty of time to stage himself properly. That mitigates delays for everyone else.