T: Operator error in trolley crash
Repairs will lengthen commuter wait times
The Mattapan trolley crash that injured more than a dozen people Friday was the result of a driver error, the MBTA said, and will force rush-hour commuters to wait longer between rides until the trains can be repaired.
“Preliminarily, the collision that occurred appears to be due to operator error,” said Jeff Gonneville, deputy general manager of the MBTA, in a statement. “In accordance with standard procedures, the operator will remain out of service as the investigation proceeds.”
The conductor of an inservice trolley on the Mattapan high-speed line stopped to help two stalled trolleys going in the other direction when another trolley rear-ended the stopped car, passengers said. The crash sent riders flying, injuring 17, at least one of whom suffered a head injury, witnesses said. Paramedics transported 16 passengers to local hospitals, and another was treated on site.
One woman said the impact felt like when a roller coaster suddenly goes down a hill out of nowhere.
“It was just a big jolt,” Regine Jean-Michel said Friday.
This was the second crash on the Mattapan line in three years. In 2014, an out-of-service trolley rolled backwards and hit an inbound trolley carrying passengers. That crash injured seven, including two trolley operators.
Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the T, declined to say how exactly investigators arrived at the conclusion of operator error.
The Mattapan line runs trolleys that are more than 70 years old, and are challenging to repair. Gonneville told the Patriot Ledger last year the T sometimes has to call trolley museums to get parts for cars that are still in service.
Until the trains involved in the crash are repaired, the Mattapan line will run on a modified schedule, with trains leaving every 6 1⁄2 minutes, rather than every five minutes “due to the limited number of unique similar vehicles,” Gonneville said.
During that time, four trolleys will run at a time, rather than the standard five. The T has 10 trolleys for the line, but two have been out of service.
State Rep. Russell Holmes, who represents Mattapan, said many of his constituents depend on the trolley line to get around.
“It is the lifeline,” Holmes said. “It’s the only way for those folks to get in without having to take a bus.”
Although Holmes acknowledged that running trains less frequently isn’t ideal, he said he’s encouraged to know the trolleys will continue to run.
“It’s a reduction, not an elimination, for me that’s the most important,” he said, adding that he will take the trolley to work on Tuesday to see how things are running.