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On 23/01/2012 21:45, wrote:
On Jan 20, 7:21 pm, John wrote:

A smartcard would presumably also work on Metro-North and LIRR, which
are also the MTA, with the remaining question being NJ Transit.

The question yet to be answered is how to verify a passenger's length
of journey on distance-based fare commuter rail systems. On regional
rapid transit, they do so by having turnstiles at both entry and exit,
so the exit turnstile verifies the ticket is valid for the distance
travelled.
But on various large commuter rail networks there are no turnstiles.
Adding turnstiles would cost a fortune, not only in their direct cost,
but modifying walkways at all stations to fence off the paid area. At
the downtown terminals there is little space for turnstiles,
especially enough to handle the crowds emerging from a train.
Pennsylvania Station would be especially complex because many tracks
are used by three different railroads (Amk, NJT, LIRR), and there are
various concourses and stairs connecting to the platforms, including
oddball ones.

They have entrance and exit gates at many stations in Southeast, though
not all. It has been a mixture of turnstiles at the main destination
point, plus conductors.