BOSTON — MBTA may be familiar with alerts, warning them to be prepared for the possibility of heat-related delays. But the MBTA says it relies on a recently modernized system of sensors and updated temperature readings to keep service on track and customers safe.
MBTA Director of Maintenance of Way Ed Baird says rails are installed to tolerate our New England climate shifts. But if the rails stay too hot and for too long, they could shift out of alignment.
This shift could potentially result in a derailment. “If it goes on to the point where the rail temperature goes above 135, then we’ll start to slow trains down in specific areas,” Baird explained.
In the past, workers would use handheld probes to measure the temperature of the rails. Now, the job is done by magnetic temperature sensors mounted to the side of the rail.
A map in Baird’s office displays the locations of the sensors. “Normally these are placed in areas that have a temperature extreme. So where this is out in the open, these are areas that we keep an eye on,” Baird said. That part of the process is done with a dashboard that can be accessed from a computer or even a smartphone.
The temperature data from each sensor updates roughly every half hour. Baird explained what happens next. “We get our first alarm at 120 degrees, which is low. At that point, we already have folks that are out riding trains and keeping an eye on things. And it will start to creep up. When it hits 135 [degrees] we slow the trains down.”
As the trains operate at a slower pace, crews continue to monitor the alignment of the rails. “If the rail had expanded and it wasn’t held in place, the rail can turn, and you can have a rail buckle,” Baird says so far, that hasn’t happened here. As for the other extreme,
Baird said these same sensors are also watched overnight during the winter.
Although in extreme cold, the rails risk pulling apart and breaking.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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