The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is planning to install commuter rail fare gates in three of its most popular stations — North Station, South Station and Back Bay — according to a Dec. 15 Boston Globe article. 

The Dec. 15 article noted that North Station will likely be the first of the commuter rail stations to receive the fare gates, which will be in the style of those in the MBTA subways. North Station is the final stop for the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line, which includes the Brandeis/Roberts and Waltham stops.

The same article reported that the North Station fare gates are likely to be installed during the first six months of 2020 and that they will likely be “along the perimeter of the main waiting area, where passengers congregate to learn at which platforms their trains will arrive.”

South Station will also experience extra traffic due to the simultaneous construction of a large office building, according to a Feb. 1 Boston Globe article. The article noted that South Station’s large office building will be built “over the open-air section of the tracks,” which will cause most of the doors leading into the station to be closed. This could cause a bottleneck for passengers attempting to use those doors during busy hours.

The same article also pointed out that the building construction project is expected to take five years, meaning it will overlap with the planned reconstruction of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston. That reconstruction, the article said, will begin in 2022 and “will probably affect service on the fastest-growing line into South Station, from Framingham and Worcester.”