BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is taking new steps to try to identify hot axles after they were identified as a factor in two recent derailments.
The MBTA has applied heat-sensitive tape to axles on the commuter railroad’s passenger coaches in hopes of spotting problems before axles fail, the Boston Herald reports. Keolis Commuter Services, operator of the MBTA trains, is also installing equipment to monitor the pitch of trains as their pass. “If there’s any change in pitch … it’s another way for us to see an indication that this may be a problem,” says Dan Grabauskas, executive director of MBTA’s commuter rail operations.
The MBTA will also install fare gates at three main stations to address fare evasion, which the agency estimates cost it $10 million to $20 million last year, Commonwealth Magazine reports.
The gates will be installed at the North, South, and Back Bay stations, involved in 90 percent of commuter rail journeys. They will be able to read plastic, electronic, paper, and Amtrak tickets.
The agency also announced several hirings and promotions. Rob DiAdamo will become executive director of commuter rail, replacing Grabauskas, who was in the position as an outside consultant. David Panagore, who has been town manager of Provincetown. Mass., will become the MBTA’s chief administrative officer. Laurel Paget-Seekins is being promoted to assistant general manager for policy, and Mike Muller is promoted to assistant general manager for strategic initiatives.
The proposal is for MBTA suburban trains. In contrast, more urban-type transit is pretty much an honor system. On MBTA’s urban buses and on its crush-loaded trolley-like Green Line, fare jumpers are going to do what fare jumpers do. Fare enforcement is like any other law enforcement — you can’t catch everyone so you build in sufficient penalties for the few who are caught, so as to deter the scofflaws.
You’re telling me you can spot a piece of tape doing something when the train’s moving. Come on get real and just install some hot-box detectors like railroads have been doing for many decades now.
Commuters will figure out how to use fare gates efficiently. But as an occasional traveler, I could see dragging a suitcase, little child, diaper bag, maybe a car seat—then trying to fumble for a ticket or my phone to open the Amtrak app…. you see where I am going. North and South Stations move so many people I’m not sure about fate gates. And when people miss trains due to congestion at the gate…
Not from the Boston area, but shouldn’t Bay Bay be Back Bay?
What would cause an axle to overheat?
I can see the fare gate thing as being a huge hassle. Congestion during the morning and evening commutes and people carrying kids and luggage and Amtrak passengers used to showing their tickets once the train leaves the station. The real problem is that the MBTA uses an old fashioned way to sell on board tickets. First of all accept debit and credit cards only. Cash accepted only at stations that have agents. No agent? Buy your ticket from the ticket kiosk at the station. Debit and credit cards only. Need to buy on the train? Buy from the conductor who has a hand-held device that accepts debit and credit cards only, No cash. Spits out a ticket receipt. No punching of paper tickets and no making change. This also keeps employees honest. More than once I have handed my fare to the conductor, received the change and a seat check placed in the slot above my seat, but no ticket receipt. You know where that cash went. Come on. This is late 20th Century technology. If the T used as much energy to get its present systems right as it does pandering to politicians and expanding their system it might find that it doesn’t have as many problems to solve.
Eric Schneider…a 3 year old can figure out how to use a fare gate, if the occasional passenger can’t just let their child do it.
Gregoryg Corliss…a Hot Box detector won’t detect an overheating AXLE, they’re for the bearings, two different issues that may or may not be correlated. Either way the heat tape will tell whether an axle is overheating, hot box detectors tell if the bearings are overheating.