CommonWealth Unbound reports the latest problem related to crumbling concrete ties on MBTA commuter lines out of South Station: Trains on the Kingston Line had speeds reduced from 70 to 30 m.p.h. because of "an increasing number of broken, cracked, and crumbling concrete ties that present a potential danger if they are not replaced or reinforced."

Over at CommonWealth, Jack Sullivan reports the ties that keep MBTA commuter-rail trains on the tracks south of Boston are falling apart:

... The concrete ties were supposed to last 50 years, but many are falling apart after less than 10. ... MBTA officials say they have identified defects in about 4,000 concrete ties on the two Old Colony commuter rail lines to Boston and on the Providence-to-Boston line, but they admit the problem could affect as many as 150,000 ties, equal to more than 56 miles of track. The cost of repairing the ties is unclear, but projections using numbers from similar projects elsewhere yield an estimate that could run as high as $100 million. ...