MBTA returns new Orange Line cars to service after braking unit investigation clears
![MBTA returned all new Orange Line trains to service following a temporary suspension to investigate a braking unit issue. [Image: MBTA]](https://img.masstransitmag.com/files/base/cygnus/mass/image/2022/05/16x9/NewOrangeLineCar_creditMBTA.628cf4dbb0d08.png?auto=format,compress&fit=max&q=45&w=250&width=250 "MBTA returned all new Orange Line trains to service following a temporary suspension to investigate a braking unit issue. [Image: MBTA]")
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) new Orange Line cars have returned to service after they were temporarily pulled while an issue with one of the cars braking units could be investigated.
MBTA removed all new Orange Line trains last Thursday when a problem presented itself in one of the train’s 48 braking units at Wellington Station “and it went disabled.” MBTA says it removed all new cars “out of an abundance of caution” to allow its engineers and technicians to determine a cause of the issue. The authority notes the problem did not present a hazard to riders or employees.
MBTA reports preliminary findings indicate a single bolt in one of the car's eight braking units had not been properly installed at the manufacturing plant.
“With safety as the number one priority, MBTA vehicle maintenance personnel started a fleet-wide process to verify that each bolt (24 per car, 144 per train) was properly installed. As each bolt on a six-car train passes inspection, the train is being returned to passenger service. To this point in the inspection process, the issue has not been found in any other braking units,” said MBTA
CRRC MA Corporation was awarded a contract in 2014 from the MBTA to design and manufacture 152 new Orange Line trains, as well as 252 Red Line subway cars. The first of the new Orange Line trains entered service in August 2019.
The new Orange Line cars incorporated several new features including more spacious interiors, LED lighting, automatic passenger counters, closed circuit cameras and video recording and onboard diagnostics for operators and maintenance staff.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
