Ceiling Panel Drops at MBTA’s Harvard Station, No Injuries Reported
A panel fell from the ceiling to the floor of the southbound platform of Harvard Station on MBTA’s Red Line around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 6. No injuries were reported, and the Red Line service that morning was not impacted. MBTA authorities are investigating the ceiling panel collapse.
NBC 10 Boston obtained surveillance footage from the MBTA, which shows the panel dropping to the floor near two people who were standing on the platform at the time. Harvard Station remained open on Thursday, except for the immediate area where the ceiling panel fell.
MBTA engineering and station facilities management personnel said the panel is made of light tin and exhibited signs of corrosion. What caused the tile to fall from the station’s ceiling is unclear. On Thursday evening, facilities management personnel removed similar panels from the Harvard Station ceiling.
A similar incident involving a falling ceiling panel occurred in March 2023, when a 25-pound panel fell on the same platform at Harvard Station. That panel narrowly avoided hitting a T passenger walking toward a staircase on the platform. MBTA officials later said the panel’s collapse was due to corrosion from water pipes, which prompted the removal of 100 other similarly corroded ceiling panels.
Two months later, in May 2023, a woman was hurt when a heavy utility box crashed into the platform at Harvard Station, bringing with it a support brace that struck her. She, in turn, sued the MBTA, claiming her injuries from that incident required long-term medical treatment.
The MBTA told NBC 10 Boston that crews perform regular visual inspections of the ceilings at its T stations. Last summer, crews completed a hands-on inspection at Harvard Station using ladders and lifts.
