Electrified, faster and more trains; 7 ways the MBTA’s Commuter Rail Service could be a lot better (2024)

The commute from Worcester to Boston is about to get even longer when several upcoming reconstruction projects on the Massachusetts Turnpike get underway.

Those who work in the city have the option of taking the Commuter Rail along the Framingham/Worcester Line, but trains aren’t all that frequent — arriving and departing at varied time intervals — and can take more than an hour and a half to get from Worcester to Boston.

But that doesn’t have to be the case, according to a new study by transit advocacy group TransitMatters. The report, released last week, lays out a vision for a fast, frequent, electrified intercity rail network that the group says could become reality with a few relatively minor changes.

By making relatively modest changes in both operations and track layout, the organization says travel times from Worcester to South Station could be reduced to an hour or less.

“Transportation and access to transportation is one of the biggest hurdles right now to growth and keeping folks here in Massachusetts,” said Jarred Johnson, chief operating officer of TransitMatters, told Central Massachusetts business leaders at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Tuesday afternoon.

The current system doesn’t respond to modern needs, he said. The diesel-powered locomotives are heavy and bad for the environment, service is slow and infrequent, and the trains aren’t accessible for many.

Instead, Johnson laid out several ways the MBTA could improve service along the Worcester/Framingham line:

The addition of high-level platforms

Currently, commuters have to use stairs to board trains at many stations.

By adding high-level platforms across the line, which cut out the need for stairs, Johnson said boarding times would decrease dramatically, leading to an overall decrease in trip times. Of the 18 stations on the route, only South Station, Lansdowne and Boston Landing have full-length high-level platforms.

“As a result, dwell times are far too lengthy and accessibility is insufficient, a condition completely unacceptable for modern rail service,” the report states. “High-level platforms must be added at all stations in order to enable the fastest possible service.”

Strategic infrastructure investments to relieve bottlenecks

Currently, the maximum speed on most of the line is 60 mph.

The MBTA recently increased the limit to 79 mph in places where track has been upgraded, but Johnson said most of the line can support 90 mph and some segments are straight enough for 100.

The report also shows that tracks can be banked to allow trains to traverse curves at high speeds. Curves on the Worcester Line currently have weak levels of banking, which TransitMatters says could be increased significantly.

The organization also said that the MBTA should explore best-practice signaling technology to allow for frequency improvements.

Electric trains

Faster, more reliable and better for the environment, Johnson said electric trains are the way to go.

Overhead wires would power motors underneath each car, improving efficiency and cutting localized emissions. He said the current Commuter Rail trains break down every 5,000 to 25,000 miles, on average, while electric trains break down every 455,000 miles.

“Yes, there’s a bigger upfront cost to these,” he said. “But when you talk about the lifecycle cost of this, we really think this is a solid investment.”

Moving away from bilevel coaches

While it may seem counterintuitive, Johnson said moving away from bilevel coaches will actually improve efficiency.

Instead, single-level coaches with more doors mean riders can unload faster, as does the elimination of stairs. And if single-level trains come more frequently, he said riders will have more options for which train to take.

“We think if you have trains every 15 minutes, folks will spread out and you won’t need to pack everyone into that one train,” he said.

Because the MBTA is in desperate need of more bilevel coaches in its current situation, Johnson suggested the agency purchase them now and phase them onto other lines as more lines get electrified.

“Every time that you are electrifying one line, another line should be getting those bilevel coaches, so everyone is seeing a benefit,” he said.

TransitMatters is recommending the MBTA fully electrify the Providence line first before moving on to the Fairmount Line and then the Worcester/Framingham Line.

Frequent service all day

To accommodate growing ridership on the Framingham/Worcester line, which has grown 45 percent since 2012, TransitMatters is recommending the Commuter Rail run at least every hour with the goal of eventually increasing that frequency to every 30 minutes.

“Right now, this region is outstripping the capacity we have on the Commuter Rail,” Johnson said.

Ideally, TransitMatters believes trains should operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. at consistent times seven days a week. Scheduling would adhere to recurring clock face intervals, meaning on a 30-minute headway, a train leaving at 1:35 should be followed by one leaving at 2:05 with timed overtakes for any express service.

Assuming all the recommended improvements are made, the report states that a train every 15 minutes in both directions on the Framingham/Worcester Line is achievable.

Free fare transfers

Though the Worcester Line has numerous stops within the rapid transit and bus area, TransitMatters believes those stations are rarely used outside of peak commuting hours due to high fares and poor off-peak frequency.

Auburndale Station is a little more than a half mile from Riverside on the Green Line, for example, yet the fare for a trip to South Station or Back Bay is $7 from Auburndale on the Commuter Rail, versus only $2.40 to Park Street or Copley station on the Green Line.

Johnson said transfers between the Commuter Rail and other transit modes, including the subway and bus, should also be free.

Scrapping the proposed $2-3 billion South Station expansion

With better operations, TransitMatters argues that a proposed $2-3 billion expansion of South Station is unnecessary and its budget can be reinvested in the aforementioned projects.

“It’s enormously expensive,” Johnson said. “That could buy a lot of new service for Worcester.”

He said the proposal also doubles down on an old model.

Most places in the world are doing away with stub-end terminals like South Station, where trains have to slowly pull in and back out. By looking at best practices and minor track upgrades, Johnson said the MBTA could get a lot more capacity out of the station.

“You can run the same trains you’re running now and get a lot more just by making some relatively minor changes at South Station," he said.

Those adjustments include moving to clock face scheduling, turning trains around faster — decreasing from the current 25-30 minutes to 10 minutes — and having dedicated tracks for each line.

“If you have trains that are getting to cities like Worcester, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell in half the time or cutting off a quarter of the time with much more frequency, then all of a sudden these communities become much more attractive for people living in Boston and it becomes easier for capital to flow to these cities,” Johnson said. “We think this is more than just a vision, we think it’s a new way for the T to do business for the Commuter Rail.”