November/December 2023 - 13

O
MTA's laser train.
Photo: MTA
n the East Coast of the U.S., fall can be the most
beautiful time of year. As residents put away their
summer gear and dig out their snow shovels for
the winter season, leaves change colors and fall
off the trees.
For transit agencies in this region, falling
leaves can be a problem for their railways. Leaves
have a slippery substance on them called pectin
and, when crushed beneath the wheels of a
passing train, said pectin can present a hazard
to safety and operations by reducing friction
between the wheels and rail. This condition can
result in flat spots on wheels, higher maintenance
costs, unsafe braking and even derailments.
Three East Coast transit agencies - Metropolitan
Transportation Authority's (MTA) Metro-North
Railroad in New York, New Jersey Transit
(NJ Transit) in New Jersey and Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
in Philadelphia, Pa. - recently started using new
equipment to clean the tracks of pectin to ensure
trains continue operating safely and reliably.
Metro-North Railroad laser train
The MTA's Metro-North Railroad uses its laser
train to clean the tracks. The laser train was introduced
by Long Island Rail Road in 2017 before
Metro-North began using the train on a trial
basis in 2022. During the pilot, Metro-North
Railroad safely cleaned more than 12,000 miles
of track with the laser train, which resulted in a
40 percent reduction in slip-slide events.
The train operates on the Hudson Line, the
Harlem Line and the New Haven Line and can
travel at speeds up to 60 mph. Two three-kilowatt
lasers are mounted on each side of the train to put
down an approximate 1.2-inch cleaning band.
Chad Scholes, MTA Metro-North's Railroad's
executive director of continuous improvement,
explains why the laser train is a better solution
for cleaning the pectin off the rails as opposed to
a regular power wash, which MTA Metro-North
Railroad calls a waterworld.
" We're able to use the laser train even past
freezing conditions when we have to actually sit
the waterworld down, " Scholes said. " Therefore,
we're able to operate it over greater environmental
conditions and we're able to cover a lot
more ground with it and do the entire network
in a single day, whereas with waterworld, we're
only operating at about 12 mph. "
Metro-North Railroad usually starts using the
laser train in mid-October. The authority uses
the I Love New York website to track conditions
of leaves throughout the state. Scholes notes the
authority also has access back to 15 years of
slippery condition data to determine when it's
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 | MassTransitmag.com 13

http://www.MassTransitmag.com

November/December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2023

Editor’s Notebook
People & Places
East Coast Transit Agencies Perfecting Method of Dealing with Pectin on the Rails
Digital Transformation Drives Innovation in Transportation
Audio System Trends in Transit Stations
2023 Transit Safety & Security Report
Improving Rider and Transit Experience, One Bus Stop at a Time
Transit Supplier Directory
Products
Best Practices
November/December 2023 - 1
November/December 2023 - 2
November/December 2023 - 3
November/December 2023 - 4
November/December 2023 - 5
November/December 2023 - Editor’s Notebook
November/December 2023 - 7
November/December 2023 - People & Places
November/December 2023 - 9
November/December 2023 - 10
November/December 2023 - 11
November/December 2023 - East Coast Transit Agencies Perfecting Method of Dealing with Pectin on the Rails
November/December 2023 - 13
November/December 2023 - 14
November/December 2023 - 15
November/December 2023 - Digital Transformation Drives Innovation in Transportation
November/December 2023 - 17
November/December 2023 - 18
November/December 2023 - 19
November/December 2023 - Audio System Trends in Transit Stations
November/December 2023 - 21
November/December 2023 - 22
November/December 2023 - 23
November/December 2023 - 2023 Transit Safety & Security Report
November/December 2023 - 25
November/December 2023 - 26
November/December 2023 - 27
November/December 2023 - Improving Rider and Transit Experience, One Bus Stop at a Time
November/December 2023 - 29
November/December 2023 - 30
November/December 2023 - 31
November/December 2023 - Transit Supplier Directory
November/December 2023 - 33
November/December 2023 - 34
November/December 2023 - 35
November/December 2023 - 36
November/December 2023 - 37
November/December 2023 - 38
November/December 2023 - 39
November/December 2023 - 40
November/December 2023 - 41
November/December 2023 - 42
November/December 2023 - 43
November/December 2023 - 44
November/December 2023 - 45
November/December 2023 - 46
November/December 2023 - 47
November/December 2023 - Products
November/December 2023 - 49
November/December 2023 - Best Practices
November/December 2023 - 51
November/December 2023 - 52
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