Investigation: Boston train fire caused by loose metal panel

SOMERVILLE, Mass. (AP) — The Boston-area public transit system’s general manager says a fire on a train that prompted one passenger to jump into a river and others to scramble out of windows appears to have been caused by a metal panel on the train’s base that came loose and touched the electrified third rail. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Steve Poftak said the 43-year-old train car in question had been inspected less than a month ago. The investigation is ongoing. No one was hurt Thursday morning when the Orange Line train caught fire while crossing the Mystic River north of Boston.