3 MBTA riders injured after evacuation of train at Back Bay

BOSTON — Wednesday afternoon, Commuter Rail and Orange Line service was suspended at Back Bay station after smoke filled the station.

According to the MBTA, an Orange Line train ran into problems as it began to leave Back Bay Station northbound at 4:39 p.m. Two minutes later, passengers began to self-evacuate by breaking windows and finding other ways off the train when the doors did not open.

An MBTA spokesperson said the doors are designed to remain closed if the train has moved away from the platform, as was the case in this incident. But the motor person was able to manually open them to allow riders off.

“It was pretty stressful. I honestly didn't know what was going on. I thought the T was on fire. People were yelling that there was a fire,” Brie Shelley said.

Three minor injuries were reported, although the cause of those injuries is not clear.

The Commuter Rail was shut down for about 10 minutes, but riders on the Orange Line had to wait nearly two hours before service resumed.

The MBTA said the cause of the smoke has not been determined, but it's believed to be related to the motor.

“It was kind of hard to breathe and see. It was pretty thick smoke. So it was pretty concerning. People were coughing and panicking,” Shelley said.

The Orange Line trains date back to the 1970s and have never been replaces, but MBTA officials said 150 of them will be replaced by 2018.

The incident has city officials reacting. City council president Michelle Wu told FOX25's Catherine Parrotta that things need to change.

"We are beyond the point of urgency for needing to do something, to not just fix the trains and get to our current capacity, but really to expand service," Wu said. "There are too many city residents in Boston, and frankly across the state, that need dependable, affordable, safe public transportation to get to work, to get to their family, to get to the doctor."

Several people reached out to @fox25news on Twitter to share video. In the videos passengers can be seen climbing through windows to evacuate the Orange Line trains.

Cox Media Group