‘Severe’ MBTA Delays Created ‘Carnage’ For Commuters

After a beer truck accident shutdown part of the T's Orange Line Friday, passengers were stranded waiting for shuttles.

By Steve Annear· 8/9/2013, 7:01 p.m.

Photo via Twitter.com/@KazinStrife

A power problem along the MBTA’s Orange Line left hundreds of Friday night commuters standing idly along the roadway waiting for shuttle buses to pick them up and get them home.

Officials from the transit agency said they were not sure if the power issue was in direct relation to an accident earlier in the day, when a beer truck slammed into a guardrail on I-93, causing a shutdown of certain T services since the accident occurred directly above the train tracks. “[It’s] unknown if it is related to the earlier shutdown,” said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo in an email Friday at 6:40 p.m.

Customers were stranded outside after “severe” delays forced the T to rely on replacement buses between North Station and the Community College stop.

Riders described the scenario as “carnage,” and said the crowded walkway was “a complete mess.” The power failure also impacted those trying to get to other outbound stops such as Sullivan Station Wellington Station, Malden Station, and Oak Grove Station. “People were getting restless down here,” said one rider via Twitter.

The truck accident from earlier Friday was cleared out just before 5 p.m. But both drivers and train passengers experienced residual delays due to clean-up efforts along the main highway.

Here are more photos from outside North Station, where hundreds of riders waited patiently for buses to show up during the rush our race to get out of the city.