Accident on the Green Line
I was riding the Green Line around 8:00 am today and my trip came to a jarring halt at Boylston Station. That's right, my E Line train ran into the E Line train right in front of us while pulling into Boylston. No one was hurt in my car. But I heard that in the end train in my car 2 people suffered some sort of injury. Fortunately, the trains weren't crowded and pretty much everyone was seated. I bumped my head on the wall though. Now I have a minor headache. There were several ambulances headed to the station when I got above ground.
Also, the front train came off of the tracks a little. Nothing serious, but it will certainly tie up the Green Line all morning.
So, if you're wondering why the Green Line isn't running, it's not because of the impending snow storm (although that would be a reasonable assumption). Hopefully everyone is alright.
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Riding the E
I was on an E line train starting around 8:30 and they were talking about this on the radio. Or rather, the diversions going on because of it. Sounded like they were busing from Government Center to Kenmore Square at that point, though my E Train inbound was going in to Arlington by the time I got off at 8:55.
Someone screwed up
Sounds like some trolley driver must have screwed up royalty for this to happen. More wonderful service from the MBTA.
I was riding the Riverside
I was riding the Riverside line and had to get off at Kenmore at about 8:30. All we heard was a "medical emergency" at Boylston. I decided to walk to Washington Street rather than wait for the shuttle buses. That took 1/2 hour. As I was walking on the sidewalk next to the Common on Boylston street, a WBZ TV camera man drove his SUV on the sidewalk next to me, without warning, from behind. He missed me by a foot. He forced one other man off to side. When I caught up to him, I decided against a confrontation as he was unpacking. And the news media wonders why people don't like them.
Someone on the front train posted to LiveJournal
She wasn't hurt, but read it here.
Also on the 2nd train...
I was also on the 2nd train. 2 injured in the 2nd car - no information give to us. No information after we got off the train.
Spin it MBTA
Amazing, "medical emergency"...lets leave out the whole "accident" part and make it sound like someone just broke a heel.
Subway Green Line - Due to a medical emergency at Boylston station a bus shuttle will be running between Kenmore and Park Street. We are experiencing significant delays. Please seek alternative lines where possible and allow extra time for your commute. 12/13/2007 9:00 AM
Boston.com has a great picture of an injured passenger being taken out on a stretcher right next to a "Charlie" sign with a big thumbs-up. Pure irony.
The pic
boston.com...riders_hurt_in.html
This one is being saved to my archives.
Poor guy
But absolutely great photo, much better than the Herald's, which, honestly, doesn't show anything you wouldn't expect to see on a normal Green Line train.
Herald photos
You need to continue to pictures 2, 3, and 4 on that page.
Meh
That photo's not framed as well as the Globe photo, with it's juxtaposition of stretcher and thumbs-up Charlie.
Communications disconnect
The following is a summary of my personal observations and those of my co-workers.
Yes, the message boards and PA at North Station noted the bus shuttle between Kenmore and Park Street due to the "medical emergency". But:
Announcements on inbound Green Line trains advising people to transfer to the Orange Line were pretty good. However, no announcements were made on inbound Orange Line trains of any Green Line problem (lots of folks transfer from Orange to Green at North Station).
Also, no mention was made that inbound Green Line trains were actually running only to Government Center, where passengers had to board a shuttle train that was running between Park and Government Center. Because this was a 'single track' operation, they were using only one (that's right, ONE) two car train for the shuttle.
Clearly, the T's philosophy about announcements is "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"
They made a few
They made a few announcements on my inbound orange line train at about 9.
multiple choice: why would a
multiple choice:
why would a T driver rear end another car that is plainly visible?
A) Too drunk to stop in time
B) Too busy talking on cell phone to notice the red lights.
C) Wants to go on paid medical leave
D) All of the above.
To be fair ...
E) The brakes didn't work properly
is another reasonable possibility.
Also To Be Fair...
F) Signals not functioning properly.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
The problem with that
The problem with that hypothesis is that the line is effectively Drive-On-Sight, especially near stations. The driver was most likely distracted... or sleep.
Not At Boylston
The entrance to Boylston, inbound, is on a curve. There is basically no sight of the track in the station until you round that curve.
Now, I don't know if the accident happened inbound or outbound, so this may not apply.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
It happened inbound. There
It happened inbound. There is absolutely no way the driver of my train (the one that hit the stopped one) couldn't see the train in front. The train in front was stopped where the inbound trains are always stopped (the far end of the platform). The accident did not occur on a corner, it was a relatively straight portion of track.
On the good side, I just got home without incident and the headache is starting to go away!
The problem occured inbound at the Boylston T stop
Prior to the station is about a 70deg turn to the left for the driver. There is no sight line up the track to see any train that might be currently in the station. The only view they have is one of those 1' hyperbolic mirrors mounted in the corner of the darkened tunnel.
I don't know how well they're trained to use those mirrors but it's not like they sped into the rear end of a train parked directly in front of them.
Maybe, but...
That doesn't mean it wasn't driver error, either. I mean, its not like they always play bumper trains at Boylston. Clearly, they have steps to take to avoid this situation, and it will be important to find out what failed here. Maybe its not an easy station to drive into, but clearly they are supposed to be able to do so without hitting another train.
Eyeballs are good
Eyeballs are good substitutes where signals fail. Those trains have some powerful brakes on them (I know because I was staring out the front window of the front car one time when the gibbering idiot of an employee driving the trolley slammed on the brakes for no reason, bringing the car to a halt within a very short distance). There is certainly enough space to slow down at the Boylston stop, particularly where trains already have to slow down substantially to avoid derailing on the tight curves near the entrance...
Coworkers talking outside my office
One was near the front of the one that went into the other. Driver wasn't on the phone or acting drunk - it could be a moment's innatention, bad brakes, or failure to judge the gap or apply the brakes hard enough. I don't know if it was a Breda car or not, but those might be driven more tentatively because of their sudden stop problems.
To be objective about this:
Answer #D is the most plausible. I go for all of the above.