By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

Operator error and the lack of automated safety systems caused a May 2008 crash on the MBTA Green Line in Newton, according to official findings from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The operator, Ter’rese Edmonds, 24, died in the accident. Seven passengers were injured. The crash caused more than $8 million in damage.

NTSB investigators concluded that Edmonds ran through a red light near Newton’s Waban Station. MBTA regulations require that operators stop for one full minute at all red signals, then proceed at 10 miles per hour. Edmonds’s train was traveling at almost 40 miles per hour when it struck another Green Line trolley waiting at the next red light.

Investigators believe both lights were improperly stuck on red due to rusted wiring they found between the signals. The rust would have interrupted communication between the signals, making them go on and off incorrectly.

The trolley struck from behind had stopped at the second red signal that had been malfunctioning intermittently, investigators said.

However, even with malfunctioning lights and operator error, investigators called this an entirely preventable accident. Most of the MBTA’s rail lines are equipped with some form of collision prevention technology. The Green Line does not have such control systems in place.
(more…)

By Abigail Beshkin (The Third Rail)

The National Transportation Safety Board plans to issue its final report Tuesday on a fatal crash that took place on the “D” branch of the Green Line on May 28, 2008.

In advance of the report, some preliminary documents (PDF) issued by the NTSB indicate that one of the signals along the tracks may have been broken. The signal, indicated in the report as H-66, appeared to have been stuck on red.

The report says that the train that was rear-ended followed procedure; the operator stopped at the red light, waited one minute, then proceeded slowly. The light had last been checked a month before the crash.

The report also says that light caused one behind it to turn red. The operator of the train that caused the accident, Ter’rese Edmonds, allegedly did not stop at the light and slammed into the train in front of her.

Edmonds was killed. Seven passengers were injured, including one seriously.

The documents say Edmonds did not have drugs or alcohol in her system.

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

The MBTA will receive $51.5 million from the federal stimulus program, according to an announcement made Thursday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The vast majority of the funds, more than $43 million, is slated for improvements to commuter rail, specifically on the Haverhill and Fitchburg lines. The approved projects include new track circuits, new switches and grade crossing improvements.

Other funds go to station, signage and signal system upgrades.

“We are committed to improving the quality and reliability of commuter rail service throughout the Commonwealth,” said Gov. Patrick in a statement. “These recovery investments will help create jobs, improve our infrastructure and strengthen our long-term economy.”
(more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

The MBTA proposes increasing fares 19.5 percent overall, raising the cost of a Charlie Card bus ride from $1.25 to $1.50, and subway trips from $1.70 to $2.00.

The authority announced the proposal in a document released Wednesday afternoon.

“Riders are going to be very upset about this,” said Lee Matsueda of the T Riders Union. “They can’t afford a service reduction. They can’t afford a fare increase. ”
(more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

Recent high-profile car accidents have put elderly drivers in the legislative spotlight. Shoved back into the shadows: a $14 million federal incentive for Massachusetts to adopt a primary seat belt enforcement law.

“There’s a certain libertarian streak here in the building … myself included,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charley Murphy said Tuesday, sounding almost Granite State-eqsue. “We’ve got plenty of laws on the books.”

And plenty of people who don’t follow the law. Seat belt usage is required in Massachusetts, but the state posts the lowest compliance rate in the nation.

State House News Service has the full scoop:

Beacon Hill leaders left $13.6 million in federal funds on the table by not adopting a primary seat belt enforcement law by June 30, a state transportation official confirmed.

The funds were foregone in spite of a need for revenue that has prompted Gov. Deval Patrick and the Democrat-controlled Legislature to agree to $1 billion in new taxes.
(more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

Yes, it’s true we’ve got the Big Dig and its associated billions of dollars of debt. Few other cities can make a similar claim to infamy. Nevertheless, Massachusetts isn’t alone when it comes to dealing with a creaking, crumbling, cash-strapped transportation infrastructure. A couple of national stories this week illustrate the shared misery.
(more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has four months to live. Transportation Secretary James Aloisi said Monday that the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation is expected to take over Turnpike operations in November.

“Starting November, there’s a new world order in transportation,” Aloisi said at a Turnpike board meeting Monday in Framingham. “The Turnpike Authority won’t exist any longer, and then we’ll take a look at what our needs are, but, I think we’re in a period of transition.”

The board of directors officially rescinded a major toll increase at their Monday meeting, one of their last. They unanimously passed a $430 million budget that relies on $100 million from higher state sales taxes to fill the Pike’s deficit.
(more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority out of existence Friday.

Patrick’s approval of a major transportation restructuring bill creates the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and now shifts attention to ongoing transportation funding gaps across the state.
(more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Board of Directors has postponed a $100 million toll hike vote amid new budget concerns and news that the authority could face a massive $268 million payment to its creditor.

The payment stems from a 2002 Big Dig swaptions deal the Pike entered with the firm UBS. The terms state that if the Pike’s bond insurer, Ambac Financial Group, tumbles into junk status with at least two ratings agencies, the Pike would be liable for a so-called termination payment.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Ambac three notches to BB on Wednesday, saying its prospects for writing new business were “negligible” and calling the firm “effectively in runoff.”

Moody’s downgraded Ambac in April, meaning UBS can now demand the $268 million payment from the Pike at will. (more…)

By Meghna Chakrabarti (The Third Rail)

The Legislature has approved a sweeping transportation reform bill that eliminates the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, cuts MBTA employee benefits and puts most of the state’s transportation bureaucracy under a new super-authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Lawmakers claimed streamlining the state’s various transportation bureaucracies could save the Commonwealth $6.5 billion over the next 20 years. But unions, specifically at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the MBTA, said they were being unfairly hit by the blunt end of the reform measures.
(more…)