Power outages hit Boston transit system during morning rush hour, stranding thousands

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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.

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. It was still being worked on two hours later.

“Service is currently standing by due to a power problem impacting our stations and signal system,” the MBTA said, offering alternatives for passengers including taking commuter rail service. “Personnel are working to move trains into stations and resolve the issue.”

Several commuters took to social media to share video 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.