Worcester Train Hits Bumper at South Station

The inbound P512 Worcester commuter train hit the bumper at the end of the track this morning at South Station, injuring 18 passengers. This is the train that usually arrives at South Station at around 9:05 AM ... and the train I've been taking lately, except for the past two days.

MBTA officials told the Herald that 18 people have been reported injured - including some passengers taken out of the station on backboards. The engineer and a conductor have been placed on paid leave while transit officials investigate the 9:08 a.m. accident. The engineer will undergo drug and alcohol testing.

But, T officials said today’s crash on the Worcester/Framingham line is due to operator error. The engineer said he “misjudged” the distance between the end of the line and a concrete bumper, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. Pesaturo added there is no reports the engineer was on a cell phone “or any other electronic device.” He said the engineer has already submitted a letter to his boss stating it was operator error.

Commuters aboard train 512 had already stood up from their seats to exit the six-car train when it made contact with the bumping post, causing some people to fall down, said Pesaturo. “The train hit quickly and people bounced,” said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Passengers tell the Herald they were brought to their knees by the sudden collision. Officials said 100 people were on the train at the time of the crash. “We were slowing down to a normal stop then BANG! A hard stop,” said Shaw Lively, 56, who said he jumped on the train in Ashland for the first time in five years. “I went flying through the air,” he added, saying he hurt his knee.

Police said radio transmissions will be studied today and an expert will look at the brakes. The MBTA said that the train was moving at a low rate of speed when the accident occurred.
Emergency responders told the Herald 18 people were being treated for what first appeared to be minor back and neck injuries, with 13 of the injured transported to the hospital. Many victims had to be strapped into backboards to be taken away. Other passengers who had left the scene reportedly returned to tell emergency officials of neck or head pain. Another five who were injured did not need hospitalization.

A Rainy Monday Delay on the p508

The p508 arrived at South Station at around 8:45 this morning, about 20 minutes after the scheduled arrival time. We were held up for awhile outside of Wellesley due to a medical emergency on the train ahead of us. At one point, I started dozing, but I could have sworn that the conductor announced we were making a stop at Yawkey (which I don't get as the p508 is supposed to be an express train). I didn't hear any other announcements that we were a local train.

As a member of Facebook (the social networking site), I've noticed a number of different groups associated with the MBTA. One that recently caught my eye, and which was also profiled in this Globe article, is the Put the MBTA on Google Maps group. By putting the MBTA routes on Google, riders would have the ability to determine their own best transportation route either from their cell phone or blackberry (without having to resort to using the MTBA website).
According to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, Boston's public transportation network should be on Google Maps by late spring.

One of the most telling comments from that Globe article though was also from Joe Pesaturo in relation to another Facebook group that calls for additional late night service. He stated, "The T barely has the resources to operate existing services, never mind adding additional services."
At least someone gets it!