Shuttle Buses Continue to Replace Green Line Service between North Station and Union Square and Medford/Tufts

As a result of a derailment on the Green Line on Tuesday, October 1, the MBTA is providing shuttle buses between North Station and Union Square and between North Station and Medford/Tufts. At this time, it’s unclear when service will resume. Shuttle bus service will be free and accessible for all riders.

The MBTA and its regulatory partners are investigating this incident. Once the investigation is complete and the area is returned to the T, infrastructure and maintenance personnel will make all repairs necessary to restore service.

“We apologize for this unfortunate incident, to the riders who were aboard this Green Line trolley yesterday, and to riders who continue to be disrupted by the shut down,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “Safety continues to be our top priority and this incident is unacceptable. We’re working alongside our federal and state partners to understand what happened to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We know this unplanned service change is a challenge, and we thank our riders for their patience at this time.”

At approximately 5 PM yesterday, the wheels of the lead trolley of a Green Line train came off the tracks, causing one car of the Green Line trolley to derail near Lechmere eastbound at the Red Bridge. This derailed car remained upright. Shuttle buses began replacing service on both the Union Square and Medford/Tufts Branches yesterday evening. The most current service information continues to be available at mbta.com/alerts and on X @MBTA.

The MBTA is working collaboratively with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as well as its federal and state oversight partners at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) while investigations are underway to determine the root cause. The MBTA is committed to taking any and all actions necessary following these investigations to ensure this incident is not repeated, and welcomes all post-incident direction from the NTSB, FTA, and DPU.

The MBTA also recognizes that any unplanned service change is challenging for our riders – we apologize for this inconvenience and frustration. More information will be released as it becomes available.