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Orange Line train separated from tractor-trailer on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford; crews remove truck

Orange Line train falls off tractor trailer on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford
Orange Line train falls off tractor trailer on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford. (Video courtesy of Winslow Townson)

People are used to logjams on the Orange Line, but the delays don’t normally affect highway traffic.

Yet on Wednesday, traffic was backed up on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford after a new Orange Line train being delivered to the MBTA was disconnected from a trailer truck, closing the breakdown and right travel lanes, and exit 89.

The lane and ramp closings continued for most of the day, but all lanes had reopened by late Wednesday night, as the state Department of Transportation said in a tweet at 10:10 p.m. that the scene was clear.

The train car was removed from the highway and was on its way to the MBTA’s Wellington car house in Medford, the MBTA said on Twitter.

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Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesperson, said a trucking company hired by manufacturer CRRC Corp. Ltd. to ship new subway cars from Springfield to the MBTA “experienced a problem while delivering a single Orange Line car.”

The trailer carrying the train car separated from the truck, Pesaturo said, citing the State Police. The trucking company is investigating the cause of the incident, Pesaturo wrote in an e-mail.

”No damage to the subway car was reported,” Pesaturo said. “State Police and the trucking company are investigating. On a separate truck last night, another new Orange Line car was successfully delivered to the MBTA’s Wellington facility.”

The breakdown lane and the right travel lane of 495 northbound near exit 89 were closed for much of Wednesday, according to State Police and transportation officials.


Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.