Artificial intelligence is helping the MBTA to predict problems before they happen. They're doing that by using oil samples taken from diesel Commuter Rail locomotives. And it's revealing some very big clues.

"Tells a lot about what’s going on inside," said Ryan Coholan, the chief operating officer at the MBTA. "It’s sort of a molecular black box."

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That could mean fewer trains breaking down and could also reduce delays.

"That’s really the end game," said Coholan.

NBC10 Boston was given access to the lab inside the Somerville maintenance facility. That lab is where the oil is analyzed.

The MBTA collects samples from each locomotive and brings it to a machine. It looks for abnormal levels of elements like copper

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