BOSTON — A federal investigation by the NTSB has started into how a 2-car train struck another 2-car train from behind Friday night around 6 p.m. The operator has been placed on leave.
“Preliminary review of the event recorder data indicated that the train that was hit was traveling at approximately 10 mph. The striking train overtook the other train at approximately 30 mph,” the NTSB wrote in an investigative update Monday.
Shock and disbelief after MBTA riders find out a Green Line train was traveling three times the speed limit when it barreled into another train on the B Branch Friday night.
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“I mean, it seems a little reckless,” said Chris Kent, an MBTA rider.
Today the National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings. Their investigators looked at data from an event recorder onboard the train that caused the collision. The data recorder reportedly showed the train was traveling 30 miles an hour in a 10 mile an hour zone.
“It’s scary. It’s a pretty important job because you’re transporting people across the city and through different locations,” said Grace Alessi, who also is a T rider.
On Monday, before the NTSB released their preliminary findings, MA Gov. Charlie Baker spoke about the speed of the train.
“I’m really anxious too to find out exactly what happened because this could have been a far more significant incident given the estimates that are out there about how fast that train was traveling hit the other trains,” Gov. Baker said.
On Monday night, T riders wondered how that accident caused by speed could happen in the densely populated area packed with Boston University students.
“Yeah, I wonder if they were under the influence or just distracted. It’s really hard to say,” Alessi said.
Twenty-seven people were taken to the hospital following the crash, the NTSB said.
“I can tell you, I talked to Secretary Tesla that night and several times over the weekend just to check in on the state of those people who were taken to the hospital. And thankfully everybody there seems ok,” Gov Baker said.
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