In a sign that the MBTA has embraced technology, Boston is one of six cities included in Google Maps' new arrival times prediction application rolled out yesterday for MBTA buses. The Hub joined San Diego, San Francisco, Portland (OR) Madrid, and Turin.
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One of today's re-enactors in Lexington is a descendent of the American who may have fired the "Shot heard 'round the world." [Boston Globe]
While some state legislators want to eliminate Patriot's Day, a brewer wants to take it national. [Boston Herald]
Congratulations to South Africa's Ernst Van Dyk and Japan's Wakako Tsuchida for winning the wheelchair races at the Boston Marathon. [WBZ-TV]
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Results tagged “orangeline”
A grease fire in a tunnel near the Chinatown station caused 225 people to be evacuated from a six-car Orange Line train this afternoon. The Boston Fire Department responded at 3:02 p.m. and shut down service between Tufts Medical Center and Chinatown stations until 4:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn said the fire was 100 feet shy of the Chinatown station and caused a great deal of smoke. Firefighters used two carbon dioxide fire extinguishers to stop the fire. [Globe], [WHDH]
Yesterday, an even worse disaster was thankfully averted. A man fell into the train pit on Wednesday afternoon at North Station. Other commuters warned the driver of an oncoming Orange Line train, who quickly stopped, allowing consumers to pull the him out of the pit. He didn't touch the third rail and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
The MBTA evacuated about 200 passengers through the Orange Line tunnel between Haymarket and North Station today due to a small grease fire. Boston firefighters doused the flames with a fire extinguisher and helped pasengers off the train. The Globe reported the fire was sparked by "lubricants" and "small pieces of hot metal."
-- Two weeks from today could be a big day for criminals. The Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan will begin a "safe surrender program" that runs from October 6-9. The program allows non-violent offenders to resolve outstanding warrants in order to get their lives back on track. Court personnel expect to service thousands at the event. Boston has 50,000 outstanding warrants. [WCVB]
If you decided to take the T in the rash of fatal (and MBTA bus–involving) and non-fatal (and non-MBTA involving) bike accidents recently, you may be not all that surprised to hear that the T isn't so safe either. A man was killed by an orange line train early this morning after apparently falling or otherwise ending up on the tracks at Sullivan Square. The accident remains under investigation. Be careful when transporting yourself from place to place, folks, especially if the MBTA is involved. [WBZ]
- Tea Party summary: Cut taxes, drill baby drill, you betcha. [WBZ]
- There some memorable photos of today's Tea Party rally. [WCVB]
- Partners HealthCare offered $40 million to Massachusetts to help reduce insurance rate increases for small businesses. [Boston Globe]
- Mansfield's school committee has voted to eliminate all high school sports because a $1.8 million budget gap. [WBZ]
- Starting Saturday, Orange Line riders using AT&T or T-Mobile will have complete cell coverage. Red, Blue and Green are next in line. [Universal Hub]
- New MBTA general manager Richard A. Davey confirmed three T bus drivers will be terminated for allegedly violating the year-old ban on cell phones. [Boston Herald]
The name of the heroic MBTA operator who stopped a train in time to save a woman's life on the Orange Line this weekend has been released. Charice Lewis, we thank you for your quick response in this scary situation, and wish all MBTA operators were so attentive. A word of appreciation also goes out to the bystanders at North Station who brought the fallen woman to Lewis's attention. In the future, we hope that all MBTA operators, staff, and passengers will remember these upstanding individuals as model citizens and follow their lead in looking out for others in all situations, not just the most dire.
The Orange Line operator and inspector who managed to stop an Orange Line train just inches away from killing a passenger who had fallen on the tracks were honored today at the MBTA board meeting. The operator, whose name was not released, had been hospitalized for stress following the incident, according to the Herald, but has reportedly returned to work.
Last night, leaving the Celtics game, we saw a woman come an inch away from death. It was on the inbound Orange Line platform at North Station. We had missed a train and had to wait an interminable 15 minutes before the next train arrived, so we were relieved when the Worflike voice of the T announced "The next Orange Line train to Forest Hills is now approaching." The lights of the oncoming train shined through the tunnel.
So, the T saw two fires last night, just as rush hour was winding down. Bad wiring at South Station closed the Red Line, and, minutes later, a commuter threw trash on the third rail at Chinatown, starting a fire that closed the Orange Line and filled both Chinatown and Downtown Crossing stations with smoke. (Don't do that again, commuter!) Sections of both lines were closed for hours as the T put out the fires and repaired the damage. Shuttle buses were hard to find or, in some cases, completely non-existent. It was a frustrating night.
Antydiluvian took today's Film Friday shot back in July of 1978. The colors in this shot are terrific and with this perspective you get a great shot through the car and into the next one. The image has a classic feel to it and offers a great peek back in time.
Don't count on the Green Line to get you past (or to, depending on where you're coming from) Park Street today. Service is still suspended following yesterday's crash at Government Center on the Green Line, meaning you'll have to take all kinds of Orange Line detours (or walk "one block," which according to the MBTA is the exact distance from Government Center to Park Street, Haymarket, or State Street) to get where you're going. The crash site is closed for a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
It was the perfect game to break the bad news. The Bruins looked like a minor league team that had fallen out of contention, lost its stars to the big leagues, and had decided to coast for the rest of the season. Not a minute of solid play.
-- Prosecutors say that the 22-year-old Brockton man accused in yesterday's double homicide was motivated by hatred. Keith Luke, who also stands trial for aggravated rape and kidnapping, allegedly planned to kill "as many Jews and blacks and Hispanics as he could." Authorities say that he planned his killing spree to end at a Brockton synagogue, where he intended to shoot all its congregants before killing himself. [Herald; Also Herald]
-- Police have identified the victim whose body was discovered on fire near Hyannis. 16-year-old Jordan Mendes was a drug dealer, police say, and they have arrested two 13-year-old suspects in the slaying, one of whom was Mendes's half-brother. Prosecutors say that the 13-year-olds killed Mendes after robbing him of $10,000 to buy a BMW. Mendes was shot in the torso and stabbed 27 times. [Herald]
The Globe reports that an Orange Line train hit and killed a person at Sullivan Square this morning. The Orange Line is shut down between North Station and Oak Grove while investigations are conducted. Riders are being bused between the two stops. More information when it comes in. This is the third person killed by an MBTA train this week.
Remember the incident spotted by Fabulously Out There in which it appeared that a woman injured herself in a fall down crumbling stairs at the State Street MBTA stop? Well, it seems that the MBTA got on that business right quick: "The stairs were FIXED this morning. Brand slapping new with the slip proof yellow strip and all!!!! Now, while they might have planned to fix the stairs for as long as I have lived here (2.5 years) and while the stairs might have looked like this even longer , I find the timing SUSPECT to say the least."
Fabulously Out There knows the Blue Line like the back of her hand, and she's used to its unusual ways, but she was dismayed at the following scene:
Update: The DA's Office just sent out confirmation. They say both stabbings happened on the outbound platform and that the stabbing victims are expected to survive.
Turns out Green Line service is down between Government Center and Lechmere. Here's the T Alert that was sent out:
Something wicked, wicked gross has been going on at North Station for the past week: every time a Green or Orange Line car heads into the station, the little people on the platforms are blasted with a powerful, cold gust of pure stink.
For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops.
For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. Today marks a trip down the Orange Line. You might get the munchies on this one: Downtown Crossing: Fried food, mouse poop,...
For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. Today, we'll breathe in the Green Line--slowly: BU Stops (all of them): Natty Light, vodka, wet UGGS, Acqua di Gio cologne, raging...