Fried Circuit Board In Worcester Caused MBTA Signal Mess: Docs

WORCESTER, MA — A tiny circuit board caused the big signal failure along the Framingham-Worcester MBTA commuter rail line that stranded hundreds of commuters in early January, internal documents show. The circuit board was owned by Verizon, but was housed in an MBTA equipment shelter located along tracks near downtown Worcester, the documents say.

The day after the incident, emails between MBTA and Keolis officials show a focus on blaming Verizon for the failure. A Verizon executive was even warned that Gov. Charlie Baker's office knew about the situation, and that the company needed to ensure "everything within Verizon’s power is being done to solve this issue."

The signal failure happened around 6 p.m. on Jan. 7. The fried circuit board prevented train dispatchers from remotely switching signals between Worcester and Landsdowne. Trains operating up and down the line were forced to stop.

Some people were stuck on trains for hours. Others were told to disembark at the West Natick station and find another way home. Commuters complained about the long delays — and the lack of communication from rail officials.

"That's when they said, 'If you have other options, please pursue those other options, because we have no idea what the time of the delay is going to be,'" commuter Joan Chambers told WCVB the night of the signal failure.

The MBTA was able to restore signals about 9 p.m., according to documents.

The investigation initially focused on issues with the signal system in Boston. But by 9:15 p.m., the problem in Worcester had been identified. The MBTA also found that a backup signal system failed, which one rail official called "an inherent long-standing issue along the Worcester Line."

The tiny circuit board served as a connection between Verizon phone lines and the commuter rail's signal system.

"Wow — amazing how much chaos this caused," MBTA Director of Communications Joe Pesaturo said in an email exchange about the burned circuit board.

Documents show that images of the burned circuit board were circulated internally on the morning of Jan. 8 as the MBTA and Keolis communications teams worked on a statement to send to media outlets.

"The Worcester paper is asking about the cause of the signal issue last night," Keolis public affairs director Tory Mazzola wrote in an email. "Are we comfortable publicly pointing to a Verizon component on the signal causing the issue? I am but want to align and if so it might be worth giving your Verizon contact a heads up."

"Yes, for me I think this is OK," Keolis General Manager David Scorey replied. "It's factual. We should get a more detailed explanation from our experts on the actual root cause — I know it's a Verizon issue, but we could do with being able to explain that in clear terms."

Eventually, media outlets were sent a blanket statement about the incident that read in part, "the cause was related to component of Verizon's telephone system that is used by Keolis to connect our signal system in Worcester to our Boston-based dispatching center."

The documents do not say what caused the circuit board to fail.

The signal failure came just two weeks after a "low-speed derailment" at Lansdowne. Following the Jan. 7 signal incident, state Rep. Jack Lewis, D-Framingham, called on commuters to share stories with him about rail problems. He said he would cite the stories when lawmakers convene to work on the state's transportation budget.

"[The Jan. 7] commuter rail failure was disgraceful — but after years of chronic underfunding and habitual delays, it was ultimately unsurprising, "Lewis wrote in a Facebook post. "I certainly want to work to prevent massive failures like this going forward, but more importantly I want the Commonwealth to finally invest in a 21st century transit system that reduces emissions, prioritizes access and affordability, and offers residents across the state a truly reliable way to get where they need to go."