Hope You Didn’t Want to Ride a New Orange Line Car This Week

Photo by Lisa Weidenfeld

Oh, you thought you might finally get a chance this week to sit on those new plastic Orange Line seats? You thought you were going to see the stops’ names announced on a flashy little flatscreen? You thought your nose might be lucky enough to take in that new train smell?

Well, guess what. You’re going to have to put your transit dreams on hold for a little while, because—just six days after the second new train hit the tracks—both new Orange Line trains are now officially out of commission, as first reported by StreetsBlog Mass. According to MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo, the trains could potentially be out of service until Monday, as parts of their doors are replaced.

“As part of the early stages any procurement process for new rail cars, vehicle engineers closely monitor a train’s performance and identify areas for improvement,” Pesaturo wrote in an email. “To improve the performance of the cars’ doors, personnel this week are replacing a component with a new one modified by the doors’ manufacturer.”

Pesaturo also notes that the new door components will come at no cost to the MBTA, and that the organization expects that the component will “serve the trains well” for years to come.

While riders of the new trains have admired the vehicles’ sleek interiors and cleanliness, several have also noted that the doors on the trains have acted a little erratically.

@MBTA the new #orangeline train is pretty nice but why do the doors keep opening and closing? New train, same problems.

— Colleen Bowes (@bowes_colleen) September 20, 2019

Looks like that fancy new train is having door problems at state. Keeps opening and closing and we’re just sitting here. Cool. #orangeline #mbta

— CMotts (@cpmotts) September 20, 2019

Most concerning, however, was the report that one of the doors accidentally opened while the train was moving.

First time on a new @MBTA orange line train. Didn’t even get one stop before ONE OF THE DOORS OPENED while we were in motion. This fucking nonsense is gonna kill someone eventually

— Zeitgeist (@8_eyed_spy) September 20, 2019

Pesaturo confirmed that one of the train’s 72 “door leaves” did in fact open as the train was in motion. The train automatically stopped when this occurred, and an investigation by the manufacturer’s indicated that the door’s “bump stop” had malfunctioned.

“It is being replaced with a new, heavy duty design,” Pesaturo wrote.

Well. They were fun while they lasted. As you once again wait your turn to meet the new Orange Line, consider reintroducing yourself to the Red Line. Three months post derailment, service is reportedly back to normal today.