Hundreds of North Station commuters delayed after engineer runs red light
By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff
Several commuter trains out of North Station were delayed for as long as two hours last night after an engineer ran a red signal and broke some track-switching equipment near Leverett Circle.
About 250 passengers on the Beverly-bound train had to disembark and board another train after the accident, which happened at 5:55 p.m. Other lines delayed by the track problem resumed running at 8 p.m., said Scott Farmelant, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. the private consortium that runs commuter rail service for the MBTA.
Under company policy, the engineer who ran the red signal will be put on paid leave and be tested for drugs and alcohol as part of an investigation, Farmelant said. The engineer had an otherwise clean record.
The commuter rails have been under scrutiny since on-time performance has plunged in recent months. Three in 10 trains were late in October and November, the worst on-time performance since the MBCR began its contract with the MBTA in 2003.
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