MBTA Using $7.5M in Fines to Enhance Commuter Rail Service

By FRANK O’LAUGHLIN (Patch Staff)

Photo Credit: MBTA

The private company that presides over the MBTA’s commuter rail, Keolis, paid fines totaling $7.5 million due to late trains and an array of other issues during its first year running the service. The T says it will use that money to enhance the service for riders.

The historic snowfall this past winter caused for frequent delays, disabled trains and service cancellations. Many riders were up in arms. Now the T is taking action.

The T says it will use the money to hire more agents to collect service fares.

Governor Charlie Baker’s newly assembled control board conducted an assessment of Keolis on Tuesday during the group’s first ever meeting.

The decision to direct the fines towards improving rail service is a step in an effort “to set the MBTA on a course of sustainability in its management, operations and finances,” according to the board’s transportation secretary Stephanie Pollack.