Orange Line

A Dorchester man is due in court today on charges he attackeds three women, one an ex-girlfriend and another pregnant, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Antwan Thompson, 25, was arraigned today on two counts of assault and battery and one count of aggravated assault and battery, the DA's office says. His alleged victims: A former girlfriend from Roxbury, 22, and two of her friends, a 28-year-old woman from Dorchester who is eight months pregnant and a 21-year-old woman.

Prosecutors say the three women were waiting for an inbound Orange Line train around 2:30 p.m. when they spotted Thompson - and moved down the platform to stay away from him. At Downtown Crossing, however, Thompson left his car and entered theirs, the DA's office says:

The victims later told MBTA Transit Police that Thompson began shouting at his former girlfriend as he entered the train car. When her pregnant friend attempted to separate the defendant from the victim, Thompson allegedly punched her in the back.

Thompson then allegedly began to punch his former girlfriend in the head and face with a closed fist. When another female friend of the two women approached Thompson and yelled at him to stop the assault, he allegedly pushed that woman down on the floor.

An unknown man managed to subdue Thompson and kept him pressed against a wall until MBTA Transit Police arrived, the DA's office says.

Thompson was ordered held in lieu of $8,000 bail.

Innocent, etc.

It's only 7:30 a.m., and already three Orange Line trains have simply decided not to run anymore, at Wellington, Green Street and Community College.

And what the MBTA is trying to do about it until it can replace the 31-year-old Orange Line cars:

The Globe reports the T plans to introduce countdown clocks to Red, Orange and Blue Line stations, but will pay for it in part by eliminating the refunds it now offers to people whose trains are way late. Also look for lots more advertising - right down to the CharlieCard - as the T tries to cut a $130 million or so deficit.

But it's not ending that way. An auto jumped onto the inbound Green Line tracks by Babcock Street on Comm. Ave. and now there are no B trolleys in either direction, only shuttle buses. Meanwhile switch problems at Wellington mean the only thing moving fast on the Orange Line are the fingers of riders complaining about delays on Twitter.

A man who lists St. Francis House on Boylston Street as his address was arrested yesterday on charges he began groping a woman he'd been staring at for several stops on a train heading toward Forest Hills.

According to an MBTA Transit Police report, a woman told police Abdulkadir Abbas, 29, started staring at her as soon as she got on the train at Community College. Around Mass. Ave., the woman reported, Abbas got up and sat next to her, put his hand on her right thigh and began rubbing it, moving higher until he was rubbing her genital area.

Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something? Channel 7 reports a hawk was rescued from the Jackson Square stop on the Orange Line last night, about two months after a hawk was rescued from the Andrew stop on the Red Line. And let's not forget:

• Penelope the snake
• A turkey at Alewife
• A pigeon on the Red Line

Karen checks in this morning from Oak Grove:

Was about to say this was the least problematic Orange Line commute in weeks. Then the train wouldn't move.

Eric Wildman adds:

What you don't want to hear on the Orange Line: "Sorry guys, this train just won't move, you will need to use the other train."

The Fire Department is on scene; expect delays, of course.

Signal problems at Charles/MGH and a dead train at Forest Hills mean riders should "expect delays," the T reports.

Charles Francis sighs:

The Orange Line is a seething ball of angst hurtling into the darkness. More than usual.

Matt O'Malley tweets somebody was singing Christmas carols on the Orange Line this morning.

Meanwhile, out in Wellesley, California import John Halamka explains how he's become a five-tool snow shoveler.

By 6 a.m., the T was already reporting two dead trains on either end of the Red Line. Now, an hour later, there are two dead trolleys on the Green Line and dead trains on the Blue and Orange lines. And the snow hasn't even started.

All sorts of problems on the Orange Line today, from problems with the rails at Wellington in the morning to MULTIPLE dead trains in the evening. Matt Kurkowski says that at the height of a 30-minute delay at State Street, a train finally pulled in around 5:30 p.m. - with no lights on.

Problems on the Green Line this evening as well. Dead train on the Providence/Stoughton commuter-rail line.

No reported problems (yet) on the Red Line, but Denis Haskin reports gridlock at the Alewife garage again - at 6:11, he'd been sitting in his car for 30 minutes with "no movement at all."

The Orange Line was briefly knocked out of commission this morning when a truck ran into a bridge over Medford Street. An inspection around 10:30 found no major structural issues and service was to resume.

David Robichaud at Channel 4 tweets - not all that long before an Orange Line train chose State Street as a good place to die.

7:15 update: Delays on the Riverside line inbound due to a dead train. And the T's commuter-rail alerts list looks like a Christmas tree: 11 delays reported.

8:30 update: Riders reporting problems on the Red Line south of town; Kate Norton says she's been stuck on the North Quincy platform for 40 minutes.

Dead Green Line train at Newton Highlands. Photo by Jenny Mackintosh.

Update, 8:10 a.m.: There's a dead train at Wollaston on the Red Line now.

Dead trains mean lengthy delays on the Green, Blue and Orange lines this morning; well, except the T is urging Orange Line riders to just forget it exists and seek alternate routes. Delays on the Silver Line to Design Center, too, due to a dead bus. Jennifer Musso tweeted from Oak Grove on the Orange Line:

Hundreds of people waiting for shuttle buses at OkGrv sub0 weather! Station worker says he's not answering "any more questions"

Commuter rail? How 'bout those 30-40 minute delays on the Worcester line? Erin Bowles checked in:

At Framingham, there was a woman on platform nearly in tears. Hoping she'll be OK, but there's no way she doesn't have frostbite.

Not that North Station lines were immune from problems. Matt Hrono tweeted:

T alerts failed. Haverhill 208 cancelled, people waiting in record cold for 45 mins, no alert. What gives? Safety issue much?

Today's fire was under a train just past the southbound platform at North Station, shortly before 11 a.m.

The Boston Fire Department reports the cause was lubricating grease catching fire under the train. The fire was quickly put out; power was shut off in both directions so that firefighters could evacuate roughly 200 passengers back to North Station. The department says there were no injuries from the incident - although as 40 firefighters were in the tunnel, another call came in for an unconscious person on a commuter-rail train at North Station.

This was at least the third track fire on the Orange Line this week and the fourth since Jan. 14.

Ishtany, who was on the train, took some video of other passengers being helped up to the platform at North Station after a walk down the tracks:

For the second day in a row, Orange Line service was interrupted by a trash fire on the tracks at a station, this time at Chinatown. Boston Fireman reports the fire started shortly before 3 p.m. on the inbound side and that firefighters made short work of it.

Yesterday's trash-in-the-pit fire was at Downtown Crossing. Today's fire was Chinatown's first in more than four days. Tom Bruno suggests:

The MBTA needs a sign at each station: "No fires in ___ days"

Another day, another trash fire, shortly before noon at Downtown Crossing. Extinguished quickly, but power was cut as firefighters entered "the pit" to put it out. And with fire comes residual delays.

Where to begin? Oh, yeah, with the fire at Chinatown on the Orange Line that stopped service. Then there's the downed wire at Wood Island, leading to premature termination of the Blue Line at Maverick. The Red Line had a recalcitrant switch at Alewife. And the Green Line has turned into the Snail Line.

On a positive note, no delays reported on the Mattapan Line.

The Huntington News reports a woman riding the Orange Line around 6 p.m. on Saturday had her phone snatched out of her lap by a teenager as the train pulled into Mass. Ave.:

She ran after him through an exit onto the Gainsborough-Camden Street footbridge where [a Northeastern University police] officer was posted. The officer apprehended the 16-year-old and MBTA police arrested him.

"Please use alternate transportation to avoid delay," the MBTA advises. A broken rail at North Station is wreaking havoc.

A Malden man with an extensive record of violent crimes was ordered held in lieu of $5,000 bail today following an incident that left both him and his alleged victim lying on the tracks at Downtown Crossing shortly before noon yesterday, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Joseph McCloskey reached into the jacket pocket of a 32-year-old Arlington man standing on the southbound platform, removed a handful of bills, then ran for an exit, the DA's office says, adding:

The victim pursued McCloskey, who allegedly turned, threw a punch at his face, and pushed him. Both McCloskey and the victim fell into the track area.

T officials shut power off on the track to let police remove the pair. McCloskey suffered superficial cuts and bruises; his victim declined medical attention.

McCloskey was arraigned this morning in Boston Municipal Court on charges of unarmed robbery, assault and battery, and obstructing a railway track. The DA's office had asked for bail of $25,000. Judge Eleanor Sinnott set a lower amount.

Innocent, etc.

The Accidental Fiddler hopes the MBTA never automates the announcements on the Orange Line, because then she'd miss stuff like:

"Next stop, Forest Hills...what am I talking about, 'Forest Hills'. Next stop, Back Bay station."

A federal appeals court ruled today that MBTA cops had the right to arrest a Mexican man at the Sullivan Square T stop after the Madrid bombings because he and other "Middle Eastern" men in his van seemed to be doing the same things terrorists might do before trying to blow up the station.