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‘I am stuck in an Orange Line car.’ Passenger on disabled MBTA train tweets play-by-play of his ordeal.

By Emily Sweeney Globe Staff,Updated January 6, 2023, 4:25 p.m.
The MBTA Orange Line, shown in a file photo.Globe File photo

A passenger who got stuck on a disabled MBTA Orange Line train provided a play-by-play of the situation on Twitter as it unfolded Thursday night.

Shortly after 10 p.m., Josh Levinger tweeted a photo from inside an Orange Line train and noted that no one on board could leave.

“I am stuck in an orange line car that is very slightly misaligned with the Back Bay station,” he wrote. “It just rebooted, and someone said ‘that’s not a good sign.’ Someone at @MBTA help me get out?”

As Levinger chronicled the ordeal at Back Bay station, the MBTA replied to his plea.

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“Hi Josh, this train is experiencing a mechanical issue. Orange Line supervisors are on scene working to overcome the issue.”

“Thanks Charlie,” Levinger quipped.

At 10:10 p.m., Levinger wrote that the “operator just came by and said ‘we’re having a little train problem, guys.’ He’s doing his job, and to be clear I’m not actually worried about my safety. But, I would like to go home.”

At 10:17 p.m. he posted a photo of an MBTA inspector inside the car at a door.

At 10:24 p.m., Levinger shared a photo of a Mass Lottery scratch ticket that he found.

More good news came six minutes later at 10:30 p.m., when Levinger reported that the passengers were finally getting off the train.

Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the MBTA, said the train’s power system had been “adversely impacted after the train made contact with a waste basket adjacent to the third rail.”

“It’s unclear at this time where the waste basket came from or how it ended up on the Orange Line right of way,” he said.

Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.

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