DA: Chicago man derailed in attempt to take control of an Orange Line train

A Chicago man was arraigned yesterday on charges he tried to shunt the driver aside and take the controls of an Orange Line train as it hurtled under Washington Street Tuesday night, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA's office, Reece Conrad, 44, just really wanted to drive a train while in Boston. He first tried the polite route, with a Forest Hills train that pulled into State.

He approached the window of the train’s motorman booth and asked to drive the train. The operator told him that he could ride the train but not drive it, at which time Conrad boarded the train.

But Conrad refused to take no for an answer, prosecutors say:

Once onboard, Conrad pressed the emergency intercom button twice, each time asking to drive the train; the operator told him no each time. Conrad is alleged to have then pulled the emergency stop lever and forcing his way into the operator’s compartment of the train. A passenger helped the operator remove Conrad and the motorman booth was then secured, prosecutors said.

The driver kept the train locked and stopped at Tufts until police arrived.

As Transit Police officers took him into custody, they asked why he wanted to drive the train so badly.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he allegedly responded.

A Boston Municipal Court judge released Conrad on personal recognizance. He is next scheduled for a court date on Sept. 4; the nearest Orange Line stop is Haymarket.

Innocent, etc.