The MBTA evacuated 25 people from a Green Line train Saturday morning after it derailed near Kenmore Station, the head of the transit agency said.
No passengers were injured when the B Branch trolley derailed only hours after multi-day construction work was finished and the line reopened to the public.
Shuttle buses replaced service between Babcock Street and Copley for hours as crews worked to re-rail the trolley. Regular service resumed in the late afternoon, a spokesman for the MBTA said.
MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said all passengers were “safely evacuated” and escorted back to the platform.
“We understand the frustration this incident causes for riders, particularly those who have been awaiting the return of service during construction. We want to assure passengers that we are diligently working to restore regularly scheduled service as soon as possible and investigating the cause,” he said in a statement.
The B Branch of the Green Line reopened for service at 5 a.m. Saturday and more than 70 trolleys “had already safely traveled through Kenmore Station prior to this incident,” Eng said.
The Green Line trolley derailed just west of the platform at Kenmore Station around 8:55 a.m. The agency did not immediately provide a cause for the derailment but Eng said updates “will be provided as more information becomes available.”
“This incident underscores the importance of our ongoing efforts to enhance the reliability and resilience of the MBTA system following decades of underinvestment. We are committed to identifying the root cause, implementing necessary corrective actions, and keeping the public informed every step of the way,” Eng said in a statement.
MBTA officials said just before 4:30 p.m. that crews re-railed the train near Kenmore and were preparing to “test trains through the area.”
