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Green Line crash prompts independent review of MBTA safety

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 26, 2009 02:49 PM

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick ordered a review of MBTA safety practices from a national group of experts. The review follows this month’s Green Line crash that sent nearly 50 people to the hospital.

"An independent review of MBTA policies and procedures is the necessary step forward to ensure a thorough review of best practices from around the country," Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr. said in a press release issued this afternoon. "It is our responsibility to T riders to leave no stone unturned as we examine safety-related policies and procedures for the MBTA’s subway and trolley system."

Aloisi and Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, have asked that a national peer group -- the American Public Transportation Association -- conduct the review of employment and training practices and the feasibility of implementing technology that would automatically stop cars that run red lights. Such technology is employed widely on other systems, as well as the T’s other lines.

The T has had two serious rear-end crashes on the Green Line within a year. The most recent crash near Government Center on May 8 was blamed on a distracted operator text-messaging his girlfriend. In a crash last year near Waban station, an operator who ran a red light died after her vehicle struck another trolley from behind.

Such peer review panels usually include three to five specialists from around the country. The National Transportation Safety Board is also reviewing the T’s two Green Line crashes.

On The Beat

Reporter John R. Ellement is in Somerville District Court, where two former youth soccer coaches are accused of raping one of their 13-year-old players.