The people of Boston expect more from the MBTA. This morning a derailment of the Red Line became only the most recent and significant incident in a long line of black eyes for the transit authority. It also put the lives of the citizens on board in jeopardy.
The six car Red Line train derailed en route to Andrew Station, between Broadway and JFK. It caused 300 feet of damage to the third rail, before it "re-railed" itself as it approached the station. During the derailment, passengers on their morning commute panicked as sparks began to fly. Passengers yelled out there was a fire, smoke began to creak into the cars, and windows "imploded" before shards of glass flew into the car.
This horror story that occurred (when people were simply attempting to go make a living) happened on the heels of a couple of recent reports that really shows the priorities of the higher-ups over at the MBTA. A couple days ago WCVB's investigative team reported on a bathroom in the new MBTA and MassDOT board room that cost the taxpayers over $100k. The bathroom was necessary so that officials could relieve themselves in peace without reporters asking them questions. I'm guessing they were tired of being asked about ridiculous spending, so they built a bathroom without putting it out to bid. Putting a taxpayer job out to bid saves money, but apparently money isn't an issue for these criminals.
That's not all! A recent report this month claims the MBTA's Green Line is legitimately "stretched to the limit" and trains are at risk of derailing at any moment. Guess what the MBTA needs? Workers and CASH!! The Green Line saw eight derailments alone in 2016, and are only repaired when they're about to derail or after it already happened. The MBTA cuts weekend service, and sends jobs to the private sector, all so that they can spend big cash with no monitoring. Trains seem to derail weekly, are constantly running behind, and break down more than a 2002 Daewoo. Luis Ramirez, the General Manager of the MBTA, has not performed to the mediocre expectations Bostonians have asked for. It doesn't help that he blames poor performance on the weather, which you're supposed to account for. Remember these tweets?
Perhaps a transit system in the northeast should be able to work effectively in the cold. Go home MBTA, you're drunk.