T reports 2 more safety incidents
Worker hurt, close call with third rail Previous events brought new policies
The T disclosed Thursday a pair of safety incidents — including a worker injury and a near-miss involving an electrified third rail — less than three months after a series of similar incidents led the agency to be rapped by federal officials.
An MBTA laborer got “shrapnel” in their leg after a piece of their tool broke off near Boylston Station during the Green Line closure last week, T officials said at a Thursday meeting. The next morning, a third rail on the Orange Line was powered on before a welding truck and its driver had cleared the scene.
Chief Safety Officer Tim Lesniak said that though no one was injured, powering on the third rail can create risk of electrocution for nearby workers and “offer the opportunity for a train to operate” on those tracks.
“That’s insane that that could happen again,” T oversight board member Robert Butler said. “I mean, I don’t understand that. I really don’t.”
In August, the T implemented new safety procedures around third rail safety after a worker suffered electrical burns when wires they were working on made contact with the 600-volt rail at North Quincy Station. Weeks later, another worker was injured after he made contact with North Quincy’s third rail.
The latest reported third rail incident came Nov. 30, as workers were clearing the site following early morning track maintenance between Sullivan and Community College stations, Lesniak said at an oversight board subcommittee meeting.
Around 4:50 a.m., the on-foot crew had cleared the area, but a high-rail welding truck was still on the tracks
when power was restored, Lesniak said.
“The power was reenergized as the truck was getting off the tracks” around 4:50 a.m., Lesniak told committee members. “The dispatcher prematurely requested that the power dispatcher turn the third rail power back on.”
He said the truck “ultimately exited the tracks without incident,” and the T is reviewing its right of way procedures. Lesniak said MBTA has had “numerous discussions” with Federal Transit Administration and Department of Public Utilities officials regarding that incident.
In the meantime, the agency is prohibiting any high-rail vehicles — vehicles that can drive on roads and directly on the tracks — from accessing tracks unless their work supports a diversion or they are required because of an emergency, according to T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo. He said the incident remains under investigation.
It was not clear how close the truck was to the electrified third rail. When asked if high-rail vehicles ever make contact with the third rail, Pesaturo said they are not powered by the third rail and “operate on the running rails.”
The FTA has reprimanded the MBTA several times this year for failing to protect its workers.
In September, the FTA cited what it called four near-misses on T subway tracks between Aug. 10 and Sept. 6, and warned “a combination of unsafe conditions and practices exist such that there is a substantial risk of serious injury or death of a worker.”
The FTA instructed the T to retrain dispatchers and supervisors in its Operations Control Center and imposed restrictions on how the T can do track work while trains are running until it proves it can do so without endangering workers, among other interventions.
Shortly after that warning, workers reported at least two more near-misses on the T’s tracks, including an incident where a flagger apparently signaled for a Red Line train to stop only to have the driver blow past the track workers at 25 miles per hour, the Globe reported.
The series of close calls was similar to a spate of at least five reported near-misses in March and April after which the FTA issued the same warnings about worker safety to the T and ordered the agency to bolster workplace procedures for operators, flaggers, track workers, and dispatchers.
A day before the November Orange Line incident, a laborer was injured after a shard of their tool broke off and struck them in the leg. That tool, called a “punch,” is a rounded, chisel-like tool used to drive rail spikes directly through ties, Pesaturo said.
Often, the pack end of a punch is wrapped in rubber to prevent shards from escaping, but the workers’ punch was “not outfitted with a protective sleeve,” Lesniak said.
When the punch was struck by a hammer, a piece flew off and into the leg of a worker, who was transported to the hospital.
Lesniak said the construction safety team immediately halted all work at the site and removed all tools without sleeves. Pesaturo said four unprotected tools were removed.
“Within hours of the incident, new tools were obtained with the proper protective, rubber sleeve,” Lesniak said, adding that the T has also ordered insulated wrenches to reduce the risk of electrocution when working next to the third rail.
Lesniak said the Operations Control Center is bringing in “control experts” to review its standard operating procedures and determine whether any changes are necessary, but he did not provide details. Pesaturo said the T is still determining next steps.