Sparks, smoke and loud bangs: Part of Green Line temporarily shut down after power line falls on train

Park Street station was evacuated and part of the Green Line shut down Sunday afternoon after MBTA officials say an overhead wire fell from the ceiling and onto a train, causing sparks and a series of loud bangs.

People on the platform described showering sparks and loud explosions, which filled the underground station with smoke.

"I heard a bang and then I looked up," said Ian Mallory, who had been waiting on the platform. "The roof of the train starts just exploding with sparks, it was like power lines or something were just like, blowing up."

Mallory said he was worried about breathing in the smoke. "So I started to get out, and then on my way out I could hear it behind me, just over and over again, these big, booming explosions," he said.

A WBUR reporter was on the platform when the incident occurred. Yellow sparks erupted from the top of the train onto the platform, accompanied by at least seven loud bangs.

Several passengers said they originally believed the explosions were gunshots.

Olga Garcia Swan was visiting Boston from Dallas and was on a Red Line train at Park Street.

"We all ducked, got on the floor and then I got drug out of the train, and we went up some stairs," she said.

Alex Ciesielski of Cambridge was also on a stopped Red Line train at the time.

"You just don't know. You know, if you're on public transport, you don't know," he said. "There's too many stories."

Shuttle buses replaced service between Kenmore and Government Center for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. An MBTA spokesperson said no injuries were reported.

Just before 10:30 p.m., the T said service was back to normal.

The disruption was just the latest safety incident on the Green Line.

A Green Line trolley crashed into another train at high speed in July 2021, and a train carrying roughly two dozen passengers collided with another earlier this summer at Government Center, sending four train operators to the hospital.