Power outages hit Boston transit system

Boston (AP) — Thousands of commuters were left stranded around Boston Thursday during the morning rush hour, after power outages hit several lines of the beleaguered transit service.

To help make up for the morning chaos, fare gates will be open at subway stations on all four rapid transit lines for the afternoon commute from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, transportation officials said.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority took to X, formerly known as Twitter, around 7 a.m. Thursday to say they were working to resolve the issue that was impacting several lines critical to helping commuters get to work in Boston. Power had been restored just before 10 a.m., the MBTA said.

“The outage at North Station was unexpected, and it is one of the MBTA’s primary power feeds,” the MBTA said in a statement. “As a safety precaution, protective systems opened related circuit breakers, temporarily discontinuing power flow. We apologize for the inconvenience and disruption during the morning commute.”

Several commuters shared video on X of passengers standing on crowded train platforms in sub-freezing conditions. One passenger posted a photo of a dark tunnel and an idle train with the words “We’re like miners.”

The MBTA, which oversees the nation’s oldest subway system as well as commuter rail, bus and ferry service, has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for a series of safety issues that led to a federal review and orders to fix the problem. It has recently been plagued by slow zones, the delayed delivery of new vehicles and understaffing.

In November, it reported that it needs approximately $24.5 billion for repairs and replacements to its embattled network. The analysis is done every three to four years and is a $14.5 billion increase from the last one performed in 2019, officials said.