BOSTON – A six-car train carrying about 50 passengers left a suburban Boston transit station without a driver Thursday and went through four stations without stopping, and investigators were focusing on "operator error" as the reason why.
The trip began shortly after 6 a.m. at the Braintree station and ended about nine minutes later when power was cut to the rails, transportation officials said. No passengers were hurt.
Stephanie Pollack, the state's transportation secretary, said the investigation was focusing on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train's operator, who had sought and received permission to move the train despite a signal problem.
The operator, a 51-year-old man with more than 25 years of experience with the MBTA, got off the train to execute a procedure to put the train into "bypass mode." The ongoing probe, Pollack said, was focusing on whether the operator failed to properly secure the braking system before exiting the train.
She also said investigators are looking into reports from riders that a cord appeared to be wrapped around an accelerator in the operator's cab.
"It would be a prohibited act if in fact there was any type of cord that was wrapped in that manner," she said.
The employee suffered a minor injury when he was brushed by the train as it moved away from the station, transit officials said.
I can't help but think it has to feel like this poor guy with the car:
Comment