BOSTON (AP) — Transit officials from other cold-weather cities are offering advice to Boston on how to deal with some of the problems that crippled its system during a record-setting winter.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's interim general manager, Frank DePaola, told a legislative hearing on Monday that the T received a number of helpful suggestions that could be used during extreme weather events in the future.

Among them was hiring contractors to help with snow removal, purchasing diesel-powered vehicles to clear snow off tracks and using anti-icing chemicals to keep the electrified third rail from freezing.

New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto and New Jersey transit officials participated in the so-called "peer review."

The hearing came as the MBTA's commuter rail network returned to a full schedule Monday for the first time in about two months.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports: 

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