Delay rocks Commuter Rail along North Shore, commuters stranded for hours

BOSTON — It was another nightmare for riders on the Commuter Rail Thursday morning as a Boston-bound train on the Newburyport/Rockport line caused hours of backups with a mechanical failure.

Out of all the delays and problems we’ve reported on in recent years, this one was especially bad.

Some people who boarded their train at 6:30 a.m. were stuck on the train for more than three hours before it finally got here to North Station.

The left the Salem station around 7:45 and then broke down in the tunnel.

Passengers told Boston 25 News there were no lights, no power, and no communication from the conductor.

After waiting several minutes, some passengers got fed up, opened up the doors and decided to walk home in the cold.

“I totally get the fact that if a train doesn’t land and deliver when its supposed to for the people on that train, it’s an enormous inconvenience," Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said.

Keolis says the break down was caused by an electrical issue.

"Honestly, I think the whole system needs to be replaced, but they can’t raise the fares anymore," Rawley resident Brad Pitcher said. "I pay $340 a month to come into the city. That’s pretty taxing on a single commuter."

That train didn’t make it to North Station until 10 a.m. and caused all kinds of delays on the line.

"It was bad," Salem resident Jacob Keller said. "I was waiting out in the cold the whole time."

Keolis hasn’t released an exact cause yet. They sent us a statement, saying, the train "…experienced a low-voltage electrical issue inside the locomotive. There was no fire but given the electrical nature there were sparks…this incident is under investigation by the MBTA and Keolis.”

A lot of people are upset, not just with Keolis, but with Governor Baker as well.

“I take some comfort in the fact that the Commuter Rail’s performance over the past 12 months has been as good as it’s been since people started keeping score ten, 15 years ago,” Baker said Thursday. “Obviously we have a ton of work to do and we know that. That’s why we have an $8 billion capital investment plan to modernize this system, and honestly, I wish we could put it all in place tomorrow.”

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