MBTA commuter rail restoration to Buzzards Bay, MA - June 2025 Update

Описание: Over the past couple years there has been talk about restoring commuter rail to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Currently Cape Cod already has a passenger train from Boston called the CapeFlyer but there’s a number of issues with that train. First it is a seasonal weekend only train that runs one round trip per day. This isn’t very flexible for people who don’t want to spend the whole day stuck on the Cape. It also caters to tourists coming from Boston and really isn’t useful for the residents of Cape Cod. It also can’t be used for commuting for those that work normal hours Monday through Friday. On top of this the train’s route on the Cape side is limited to 30 miles per hour which means the train takes an hour to get from Buzzards Bay to Hyannis. Now I’m not saying this train is bad but I’m saying it can be improved upon to better serve more people at a higher frequency.

To have trains running at a higher frequency you would need more trainsets, crews, station upgrades, track upgrades, funding, and potentially signals and Positive train control, and support from the political side of things. This would certainly cost some money and won’t happen just yet but there is momentum in multiple forms. First there’s a lot of support for passenger rail from advocates and politicians. There’s also political pushes like one I discussed in 2023 that aims to look into bringing passenger trains onto the Cape. Lastly there’s a bill to bring trains to Buzzards Bay first. This is a much needed first step to getting trains to the Cape, even if these don’t cross the bridge - yet. The Bourne Enterprise reported on this issue in an article from this May 2025.

“The Massachusetts State Senate passed S.2512, a Fiscal Year 2025 supplemental budget making critical investments in critical public needs across the commonwealth, including education, infrastructure and community services. Senator Dylan A. Fernandes successfully passed 16 amendments in the budget, bringing home a total of $750,000 in funding to the district.
A major priority for Bourne is the expansion of commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay. As part of the FY25 supplemental budget, Sen. Fernandes secured $25,000 to fund a study exploring the feasibility of extending commuter rail to the town. This feasibility study is a significant step toward enhancing regional connectivity, reducing traffic congestion and boosting economic opportunities in Bourne.
“Bringing commuter rail back to Buzzards Bay will boost economic development and transportation access for Bourne,” said Sen. Fernandes. “This investment will improve transportation options for residents who rely on public transit for work and daily life, while also strengthening Bourne’s position as a key hub on Cape Cod”.

Now this doesn’t mean we’ll see trains rolling just yet but this is a very important step in the process to get trains rolling. There is also a 12 month timeline once passed to get trains going which is very interesting and helps propel things forward at a reasonable rate but it makes me question what service will be provided, at least initially. The tracks to Buzzards Bay are good for 60 MPH running but lack signal systems like the rest of the MBTA system. If trains are to operate at the same frequency of other lines then the necessary infrastructure improvements would need to be funded and done. The cheap option on the other end of the spectrum is having one train shuttle bounce back and forth between Buzzards Bay and Middleboro as a connecting shuttle with South Coast Rail trains. Either way any service is better than none and I’m sure the T would make the necessary upgrades as ridership and demand grows.

In the end it would be great to have real passenger rail service to Buzzards Bay in whatever form, as long as it is reliable and worth taking. Not to get ahead of ourselves but having service to Buzzards Bay could also pave the way for increased service to the Cape itself whether it be commuter service or additional CapeFlyer runs. Passenger rail in this area would become extremely important because the Cape Cod Canal road bridges need to be replaced and will for sure increase traffic during construction and it is hard to imagine traffic worse than it is already. Hopefully there are plans to provide some sort of rail service during that time. I hope to cover this topic more in depth in another video. Until then we’ll have to see what progress is made to Buzzards Bay so stay tuned for future updates!

Facebook:
  / mslrailmedia  

Comments? Questions?
Just leave a note in the comment section and I'll get back to you.

©2025 South Coast Rail Videos