MBTA offers free rides on the Red Line following derailment

The MBTA is offering free rides on the Red Line Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. as an apology to riders following the morning's disrupted commute. Shuttle buses replaced Red Line service after a maintenance vehicle derailed on the northbound tracks at Park Street, damaging the third rail, according to the MBTA.

Nearly 60 shuttle buses replaced services along the line during the closure. Repairs by the agency's power department took several hours, but by10:15 a.m. the buses were phased out and service resumed between Harvard and Broadway stops.

The incident occurred at about 4:45 a.m., and the MBTA announced the derailment and shuttle bus service replacement in a post on social media at 5:27 a.m. The MBTA earlier advised riders heading downtown to use commuter rail service from JFK/UMass to South Station and from Porter Station to North Station during the disruption.

The derailment occurred as crews moved materials needed to prepare for an upcoming 16-day shutdown of the Red Line for track improvement work. Those upgrades are set to begin on July 13 between Kendall and Alewife Stations.

The transit agency said it followed standard protocol and notified the state Department of Public Utilities and the Federal Transit Administration of the incident.