Bad brakes found on 7 trains
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said an inspection of its new Orange and Red Line fleet has revealed bolts were improperly installed in the brakes of seven additional train cars.
The braking issue had caused a new Orange Line train to become disabled on May 19, which prompted the MBTA to take all of its new Orange cars and one new Red car out of service.
In announcing a return to service for the new Orange Line trains on Monday, the MBTA said the issue had not been found in any other braking units at that point.
On Thursday, Poftak told the MBTA Board of Directors that further inspection revealed the same problem had occurred in seven other new trains — six Orange and one Red.
“We have currently inspected all of the Red Line cars and almost all of the Orange Line cars,” said Poftak. “We have found seven cars where the bolts were out of the specified torque range.”
MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said those seven cars are now available for service, after new bolts were properly reinstalled. Six new trains were in service on Thursday.
Pesaturo said 58 of the 64 Orange Line cars that were available for service prior to May 19 have been inspected. An inspection of the remaining six trains was completed by the end of Thursday.
“I just want to assure everyone that we have multiple braking units on every train and this was not a threat to safety,” Poftak said. “This was a mechanical problem.”
Poftak said there are 144 bolts on each six- car train. On Monday, the MBTA said last week’s failure occurred because a bolt in one of the train car’s braking units had not been properly installed at the manufacturing plant in Springfield, where all of the new cars are assembled by Chineseowned firm CRRC.
He said the MBTA plans to conduct additional inspections on the new cars, and will be sending the improperly installed bolts out for analysis to ensure the problem does not occur again. The T has also requested changes in the assembly process to verify that the bolts are installed correctly in the remaining trains.
The T is spending about $1 billion to replace its aging Red and Orange Line fleet; the plan would eventually deliver 152 Orange Line cars and 252 Red Line cars over the next few years.
In a meeting where the Board of Directors stressed the importance of safety at the T, Poftak’s report on the incident was well-received.
“What you’re doing with the Orange Line cars is a perfect example of a safety management system in action,” board member Mary Beth Mello said.
Board of Directors Chair Betsy Taylor opened the meeting by setting three major priorities for the board in the year ahead, in light of the increased federal oversight at the agency: improving safety, continuing to invest in capital projects and working to secure reliable funding for the T’s operation.
Poftak shared an update on the status of the Federal Transit Administration safety management inspection, saying that there’s been a series of interviews with officials from the FTA, which is expected to release its report on safety recommendations in the summer.