The six-car train left the station without an operator just after 6 a.m. and traveled northbound toward Boston until it was finally brought to a stop when power was cut off to the third rail, officials said.
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Authorities are interviewing witnesses and the trains operator. When a signal to leave a station is not working, operators can request that the T’s operations center allow the train to enter into bypass mode.
MBTA officials said the train was brought to halt by cutting off power to its electrified third rail, according to the report.
Stephanie Pollack, the state’s transportation secretary, said the investigation was focusing on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train’s operator, according to the AP. Saying safety is the MBTA’s primary responsibility, Pollack said, “Something happened that should not have been able to happen that put our passengers in danger”.
The NTSB has been made aware of the incident but is not contributing to the investigation.
Braintree Mayor Joe Sullivan, who sits on the MassDOT board of directors, said he spoke with T officials and called the runaway train “a case of human error”.
Part of the investigation will look into whether a cord was wrapped around the train’s accelerator.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says a passenger train carrying 50 people that left a suburban Boston station without a driver was tampered with.
She said: ‘The whole train started going slow, the lights went off and everything just stopped down between Quincy and JFK and we stayed there for about 30 minutes.
“There would have to be numerous purposeful actions taken to circumvent our vehicle safety systems”, she said. “They’re now interviewing several people, including the gentleman who was the operator”. He said the Blue Line has been operated by one driver since the late 1990s and Orange Line trains have had a single operator since 2009.
Pesaturo said an initial examination showed no problems with the “functionality” of the train’s equipment. The Red Line also reported delays because of disabled trains on Monday and Tuesday as well as signal problems.
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The above-ground Red Line train departed Braintree Station – the southernmost stop of the line – sand traveled north toward Boston. “It’s pretty clear that the main control that drives the train was tampered with”.
