Regular Orange Line service resumes after vandals strike trains

Regularly-scheduled service has resumed on the MBTA Orange Line after several trains were damaged by vandals, according to transit officials.

The vandals damaged windows on those Orange Line trains and the case is under investigation by the Transit Police Department.

The MBTA warned Orange Line riders that they may face extended waits between trains late Wednesday afternoon.

“Repairs are in progress,” the T wrote in a statement. “We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to put trains into service as quickly as possible.”

Officials later said that repairs were progressing “at a good pace” and a full slate of ten trains are expected to be available for evening service.

The MBTA tweeted at 5:26 p.m. that regular Orange Line service had resumed.

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While numerous new Orange Line trains were seen Wednesday afternoon at the T’s Wellington Yard, those were taken out of service on Jun. 21, after transit inspectors discovered a battery failure on one of the vehicles. Officials said engineers are working on a plan to fix that issue.

Riders who use the Orange Line were already facing some longer-than-normal waits after the MBTA reduced service in order to comply with a federal directive pertaining to the staffing of the MBTA’s Operations Control Center.

A recent federal inspection found the MBTA’s Operations Control Center “is not appropriately staffed,” which creates “an increased safety risk.” An official said some employees were working 20-hour-long shifts with breaks of only 4 hours between shifts.

In addition to improving staffing levels, the MBTA was also ordered to ensure all OCC staff members are properly certified and that supervisors are not simultaneously assigned dual roles.