Fare gates were not in operation at South Station on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Photo by Colin A. Young | State House News Service
A little more than a month after they first went into use, the fare gates at South Station were out of service Monday and covered with tarps and shrink wrap.
The MBTA referred questions Monday morning to its commuter rail operator Keolis Commuter Services, which told the News Service it would provide information at a later time.
A Keolis spokesperson told the News Service on Monday afternoon that the fare gates at South Station were “taken out of service last week in the wake of a major winter storm that delivered heavy snow accumulations and bitter cold temperatures.” He did not respond to a follow-up asking what about the storm required the fare gates to be taken offline.
“Keolis and [fare gate manufacturer] Scheidt & Bachmann are assessing the impacts from the snow and taking necessary actions to return the gates to service,” the spokesman said.
The fare gates are located outside, under the new residential and office tower being built on top of the station. While they are under cover, they are exposed to the bitter cold that has affected some of the T’s train and subway operations over the last week.
On Monday morning, the gates were wide open to let passengers through without needing to scan a ticket, and the structures were covered in brown tarps and then wrapped with shrink wrap. Users on Reddit were posting Saturday about South Station fare gates similarly being out of use and covered.
In a major change to fare collections practices, the T began on Dec. 30 to require commuter rail passengers to tap or scan a train ticket to enter the track area at South Station and to require passengers arriving at South Station by train to scan a ticket to exit the platform area. The change caused frustration for some commuters, but the T phased in their use and did not have all gates active on all days over the last month.
Fare gates opened at North Station in 2022, and fare gates are also planned to open at Back Bay Station and Ruggles Station in 2026.
When the South Station gates were introduced in late 2025, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said it marked “another demonstration to our riders that we are committed to ensuring fares are collected and reinvested into the transit system to better serve the public.”
