Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rail Safety Hotbox Detectors topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mass. bill would require hot-box detectors every 20 miles on passenger rail lines
Summary
House bill No. 3719, filed Jan. 15, 2025, would amend Section 176 of Chapter 160 of the Massachusetts General Laws to require hot-box detectors every 20 miles on lines with passenger trains and mandate installation in new construction and on existing lines within one year of enactment.
A bill filed Jan. 15 would require hot-box detectors every 20 miles on any Massachusetts rail line on which passenger trains operate and would require installation in new construction and on existing lines within one year of the law’s passage, according to House bill No. 3719.
The petition, presented to the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court (2025–2026), seeks to amend Section 176 of Chapter 160 of the General Laws by inserting a requirement that “Hot Box detectors shall be installed every 20 miles on any line in which passenger trains operate.” The bill text specifies the detectors “shall be included in any new construction project and within one year of the passage of said law on all existing lines.”
Representative Kathleen R. LaNatra of the 12th Plymouth district filed the petition as House bill No. 3719. Representatives Natalie M. Blais (1st Franklin) and Michael D. Brady (Second Plymouth and Norfolk) are listed as additional petitioners; the docket shows dates when each name was added to the filing.
The document submitted to the House includes the bill language and docket information but does not record committee referral, hearings, a committee recommendation, or any legislative votes. The filing places the proposal before the General Court for whatever next steps — committee assignment, public hearing, amendment and votes — that the Legislature will schedule.
The bill is limited in scope to lines “in which passenger trains operate” and to the insertion described in Section 176 of Chapter 160; the filing does not identify funding sources, enforcement mechanisms, or implementing agency procedures. Those details would need to be addressed later in the legislative or rulemaking process.
Next steps for the measure are not specified in the filing. The bill text and docket establish only the petition and the proposed statutory language; any timetable for hearings, committee action or enactment is not included in the document.
