MBTA Commuter Rail riders along the North Shore saw their commutes upended Monday morning due to a massive, 9-alarm fire burning at an abandoned warehouse in Chelsea.
The overnight blaze forced transit authorities to cancel several trains on the Newburyport/Rockport Line before shifting to shuttle buses to serve passengers between Chelsea and Lynn.
Several riders took to social media to complain about a lack of communication from transit authorities. Some asked why conductors didn’t alert riders of the service changes before boarding. Others were confused about where to board the shuttles and frustrated by delays.
“When will the buses arrive? We are all standing here at Lynn and no MBTA staff,” Tess Samperi wrote on X.
“How do we get to the buses?” Theodora Batchvarova asked. “Where are they?”
Another rider, Kathleen Sullivan, complained that a three-hour commute included “zero communication” from transit officials. In a response to another question on X just before 8 a.m., Commuter Rail said they were working to get staff to the station to help guide passengers.
For some passengers, the problems didn’t end once aboard the bus. Samperi said they “sat on the side of the road for some time” because the driver was lost.
As of late morning Monday, MBTA Commuter Rail officials warned riders that they were still experiencing significant delays in both directions due to the fire. Keolis, the company that oversees Commuter Rail service, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when service would be restored.
Firefighters from communities surrounding Chelsea were providing aid in the firefight, including from Cambridge and Arlington. Images of the blaze show plumes of smoke emerging from the abandoned warehouse. The building’s roof appears to have caved in. Authorities have not released information on the cause of the fire. There were no reports of injuries.
