Orange Line Passengers Kick Out Windows After Smoke Fills Station
BOSTON (CBS) – Passengers were forced to evacuate out windows of an Orange Line train Tuesday night. A problem with the third rail caused two trains to become disabled near the State Street station.
The MBTA says damage to the third rail caused the motors to overheat on one of the trains and smoke filled the station.
"There was a lot of smoke," one passenger said. "People were kicking out the windows of the Orange Line."
Boston Fire says they found a piece of sheet metal underneath the two disabled trains and say it may have caused the damage to the third rail.
"It was chaotic," said passenger Danny Vieux. "It sounded like a bomb. People were really scared. People were panicking, they were running around, they were breaking windows."
Service was disrupted for more than an hour Tuesday night.
An MBTA spokesman says while there was never any risk to passengers, they had reason to be concerned. "There will be a full investigation into all aspects, including the cause of incident and the manner in which it was handled," spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.