Transportation secretary slams T
Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca criticized the MBTA for its lack of transparency regarding a construction truck derailment on the Red Line.
Shortly after 5 a.m. Friday, the MBTA tweeted that shuttle buses were replacing train service between Harvard and Broadway stations, due to a “disabled piece of maintenance equipment” at Park Street.
Twenty minutes later, the MBTA tweeted a similar message, but this time it was shared that the maintenance equipment had derailed.
No further updates were shared on social media for nearly 3 hours, when the T tweeted shortly after 8 a.m. that shuttle buses were being phased out and train service was resuming with delays.
On the derailment thread, riders, including an elected official who represents the area, commented about the lack of communication and availability of shuttle buses throughout the service disruption. The T did respond to many of these comments.
“Poor communication,” said state Sen. John F. Keenan shortly after 7 a.m. “No update in over an hour. No info regarding northbound service from Braintree and Quincy. Sitting outside JFK.”
At a Friday board of directors meeting, where Interim General Manager
Jeffrey Gonneville shared more information on the derailment, Fiandaca said the MBTA could have done a better job of communicating with affected riders.
“Meanwhile, as we take that look back, I think it would be important that we review what we’ve said on our social media accounts and all channels to our customers throughout the process,” said Fiandaca in her first T board meeting. “We have a goal of sharing information with the public as we know it.
“We want folks to know what’s happening and what they can expect from our transit service. And it would be important for us to take that look back and to see how we can improve that process and exactly how we handled it in this instance.”
In response, Gonneville simply said, “Understood. Thank you.”
Gonneville told the board an over-the-road piece of equipment — a bucket truck with rubber tires and bogeys that allow it to traverse along the rails — derailed at approximately 4 a.m., as it was traveling just outside Park Street on the Red Line.
All derailments are treated the same, he said, regardless of whether it’s a train with passengers on board or a piece of construction equipment. According to Fiandaca, this is due to federal requirements.