Close call as commuter rail train strikes empty car on Ashland tracks

Two people, a grandfather and grandson, had to abandon their broken-down car before it was hit by a train in Ashland Thursday night.

Commuters saw hours-long delays after the empty car was squashed by a commuter rail train, according to police. 

Ashland officers said no injuries were reported, but the car was left mangled on the tracks at Main Street Crossing. 

The MBTA reported the Worcester line collision around 6:40 p.m.

The grandfather and grandson were in the car together when they realized it was lodged on the tracks, Ashland Fire Chief Keith Robie said.

Hoping to bring back help, Robie said the grandson got out of the car and ran to the fire department, bringing two firefighters back to the scene.

That’s when firefighters saw the train coming, Robie said, and the grandfather standing in front of his car waving down the train to make it stop.

“Unfortunately,” Robie said, “trains, their size, their speed, they don’t stop quick.”

He said throughout the years, they’ve learned that the safest bet is to just move out of the way — so firefighters pulled the grandfather out of the train’s path.

One woman responded to the Ashland Police Department’s Facebook post explaining that she had to back up from the Main Street tracks and take another road home since police were on either side of the stopped train.

“You ladies and gentleman are amazing to me,” she wrote, “You run in when most people would be running away. Very glad to hear the gentlemen in the car got out safely.”

Police said the car was cleared from Main Street Crossing around 9 p.m., but the MBTA warned passengers that they would continue to see delays throughout the night in both directions. 

Normal service is resuming on the Worcester line as both tracks have been reopened after the collision of Train 523 with an empty vehicle in the right of way near Ashland. Passengers are still experiencing residual delays in both directions.

— MBTA Commuter Rail (@MBTA_CR) February 7, 2020

A Framingham train left South Station by 7:45 p.m. but was held at Natick Center because of the collision, while multiple Worcester trains were cancelled or held near Ashland, Framingham, and West Natick to wait out officials examining the tracks.

Update: Worcester Train 528 (8:30 pm from Worcester) has been cancelled today due to ongoing delays on the Worcester Line caused by a collision with a vehicle in the right of way near Ashland. The next inbound train is Train 532 (9:35 pm from Worcester).

— MBTA Commuter Rail (@MBTA_CR) February 7, 2020

Worcester Train 526 (7:20 pm from Worcester) has been cancelled today due to ongoing delays on the Worcester Line caused by a collision with a vehicle in the right of way near Ashland. The next inbound train is Train 532 (9:35 pm from Worcester).

— MBTA Commuter Rail (@MBTA_CR) February 7, 2020

Many trains were more than two hours behind schedule, according to the MBTA. 

Update: Worcester Train 524 (6:05 pm from Worcester) is now operating approximately 2.5 hours behind schedule between Ashland and South Station due to an earlier collision with an empty vehicle in the right of way.

— MBTA Commuter Rail (@MBTA_CR) February 7, 2020

Update: Worcester Train 525 (6:15 pm from South Station) is now operating approximately 2 hours behind schedule between Framingham and Worcester due to an earlier collision with an empty vehicle in the right of way.

— MBTA Commuter Rail (@MBTA_CR) February 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/MBTA_CR/status/1225596747545743361