On the morning of October 19th, 2023, Metro-North Railroad's "LaserTrain" pauses at Stamford station in Connecticut while performing a cleaning (zapping) run on the New Haven Line. Attached to the "B end" truck of Bombardier Comet III cab car, MNCW 5010, is a Laser Precision Solutions (LPS) GPS-controlled retractable laser that hovers over the rail head as the train travels up and down the line. 5010 was originally purchased by Metro-North for West-of-Hudson service and was retired from the active roster in 2008 along with the rest of the Comet III fleet.

The LaserTrain is tasked with vaporizing leaf residue off of the rails throughout the system. During the fall season, leaves fall onto the tracks which cause slip slide conditions when run over by trains. Many railroads utilize rail washers for this issue but the Metro-North, LIRR & the Staten Island Railway have recently turned to this technology for the task. The LaserTrain is able to rid the rail of leaf residue without using water, while running at the railroad's maximum allowed speed (MAS) up to 60MPH.