Mass. Dems: Baker treating commuters 'like 2nd class citizens'

BOSTON — The crux of the MBTA's Green Line shut down Tuesday morning, forcing commuters to pack onto substitute buses or find alternate transportation and prompting widespread outrage.

Tuesday afternoon, Massachusetts Democrats blamed the nightmare on Governor Charlie Baker's failure to address the MBTA's issues.

“Governor Baker said his ‘vision’ for the T is ‘making it work.’ Well, Governor, even with the incredibly low bar you’ve set, you’ve failed," Mass. Dems said in a statement. “It’s time the Governor admits he has no plan to fix the T and that the daily struggles of our commuters and working families aren’t one of his priorities."

MBTA officials told Boston 25 News overhead wires between Arlington and Copley stations on the westbound side sustained damage Tuesday morning, causing the shutdown.

As recently as last month's debate, fellow gubernatorial candidates criticized Baker's approach to public transportation, saying the state needs a long-term plan and additional revenue to fix the MBTA and improve commuter rail services.

“Massachusetts commuters deserve better and deserve a Governor that will stand up for them," Mass. Dems' statement continued. "They’re sick and tired of being late to work, missing appointments, and hearing their train is being ‘taken out of service.’ And most of all, they're sick and tired of being treated like second class citizens by Governor Baker.

MORE: MBTA Nightmare: Wire problem suspends Green Line service amid Tuesday commute

Customers on all but two trains Tuesday morning were able to exit onto platforms. Customers on two trains that were in between stations were escorted off and had to walk through the tunnels to exit the T.

Service was suspended in both directions while MBTA crews made repairs.

"That was a terrible morning and I’m glad nobody was hurt," Gov. Baker said Tuesday afternoon when reached for comment. "And the T responded pretty quickly and got the buses out there. It was a difficult and complicated morning. But this is just another example of why the $8 billion we’re going to spend on the core system over the next eight years is so important and why we should be spending money on the core system."

Boston 25 News reached out to the governor's office for comment on the issues and were initially referred to the MBTA and MassDOT.

Cox Media Group