NTSB to weigh final report on 2008 Green Line crash

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

The National Transportation Safety Board announced today that its board will meet July 14 in Washington to consider a final report on last year’s Green Line trolley crash that left operator Ter’rese Edmonds dead.

Edmonds’ trolley was traveling at 38 miles per hour during the evening rush hour on May 28, 2008, near Waban Station, when it ran a red signal and struck another trolley that had been stopped.

Damage was estimated at $8.6 million. A year after the crash, the MBTA had a second serious Green Line crash near Government Center. That crash – blamed on a text-messaging driver -- is also under investigation.

Both crashes have raised questions about the MBTA’s training standards and the antiquated signaling system along the Green Line. The T is in the process of hiring a consultant to upgrade the signaling system, but has fallen behind schedule.