A worker steps into the sunlight at the drawbridge outside North Station where commuter rail trains ferry passengers on a May morning. (Photo by Andy Metzger)

AFTER FIVE YEARS of stops and starts, the MBTA is planning to install fare gates for commuter rail trains at North Station sometime this spring.

Fare gates at the commuter rail hubs of North, South, and Back Bay Stations have been talked about for years as a way to crack down on fare evasion on the commuter rail system, but nothing ever happened.

At an MBTA board meeting, General Manager Steve Poftak said the fare gates will start going up in March at North Station; he gave no timetable for installing gates at South Station or Back Bay Station. There are no plans to install gates at other commuter rail stations.

Poftak gave no cost estimate for the project.

Currently, conductors issue or check tickets on board commuter rail trains. But the new gates will mean passengers will have to have activated tickets in hand to pass through the gates to reach their train, so no more running at the last minute to board a train.

Bruce Mohl oversees the production of content and edits reports, along with carrying out his own reporting with a particular focus on transportation, energy, and climate issues. He previously worked...