Community Corner

MBTA: D Line Service Trouble May be Due to Faulty Equipment

With a number of recent breakdowns and service trouble, the MBTA says they have personnel working "around the clock to prevent failures."

Frequent passengers on the MBTA's Green D Line can tell you that lately, service has not been the best. 

Just last week, shuttle buses had to replace train service after a wire problem at the Waban Station in Newton. Five days earlier, another wire problem shut down all Newton service on the Green Line between Riverside and Reservoir stations.

With a number of recent service interruptions, the MBTA says it has been "aggressive" in its inspections of the overhead (catenary) wire systems, according to an email sent to Newton Patch from MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

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The problems, Pesaturo says, could be due to new equipment recently installed on the line. 

"After the most recent disruption, [workers] concluded that the failures have occurred at locations were crews have recently installed new trolley wire splices," Pesaturo says.

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Wire splices are used to weave together the ends of two piece of wires, and are often used to put together a wire that has been broken, cut or damaged.

Since the new wire splices seem to be the source of the power problem, Pesaturo says the MBTA's Power Department has contacted the manufacturer of the wire splices and made them aware of the problems with the product. 

In the meantime, Pesaturo says the MBTA has added personnel who are "working around the clock to prevent failures" and maintenance staff is in the process of inspecting all the wire splices currently in use. 

The MBTA is also working on hiring a consultant to review a number of aspects to the rail line including a preventative maintenance plan, connections between the trolley and the wires as well as inspections of different components used on the rail, Pesaturo says. 

"The MBTA apologizes for the recent disruptions in service, but please be assured that staff is working hard to prevent wire problems before they occur," Pesaturo says. 


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