MBTA Commuter Rail

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts's involvement with the operating facets of commuter rail began in 1967 when the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to discontinue all passenger services.[6] Service north of the state line was discontinued, but most service in Massachusetts was preserved through a contract between the Commonwealth and the B&M, at this time still an independent railroad company. The Commonwealth and MBTA began to purchase several lines, like the Lowell Line between Somerville and Wilmington, from the B&M.

In 1969 the B&M transported 24,000 passengers every weekday on four separate routes. Its yearly deficit was $3,200,000 (equivalent to $22,309,982 in 2019). A pool of 86 Budd Rail Diesel Cars provided the service.[7] B&M filed for bankruptcy protection in 1970. All remaining B&M commuter assets, with the exception of yard tracks and freight-only branches, were sold to the Commonwealth on December 14, 1976, though B&M was contracted to operate the service using its existing fleet of diesel railcars.[6]

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H), the long-time operator of most South Station commuter trains, filed for bankruptcy for the last time in 1961.[8] Two years earlier in 1959, the railroad had discontinued passenger service on the Old Colony division in southeastern Massachusetts. On July 28, 1965, the MBTA signed an agreement with the New Haven Railroad to purchase 11 miles (18 km) of the former Old Colony mainline from Fort Point Channel to South Braintree in order to construct a new rapid transit line along the corridor. The line was expected to be completed within two years. The agreement also provided for the MBTA to subsidize commuter service on the railroad's remaining commuter rail lines for $1,200,000 (equivalent to $9,735,586 in 2019) annually.[6][9]

The NH was included in the Penn Central Transportation Company (PC) merger in 1968, which itself filed bankruptcy in 1970.[10] MBTA purchased many PC southside commuter lines on January 27, 1973, including the Providence/Stoughton Line as far as the Rhode Island border plus the branch to Stoughton, the Franklin Line and Needham Line and the Framingham/Worcester Line from Riverside to Framingham, as well as a number of abandoned lines and lines without passenger service including the Old Colony mainline from Boston to Braintree and the Plymouth/Kingston Line (which were later restored).[6] PC merged into Conrail on April 1, 1976; the MBTA bought the equipment but Conrail took over operations of the southside lines. The MBTA also purchased the Fairmount Line to restore it for passenger service as a bypass during Southwest Corridor reconstruction.[6]

The Framingham/Worcester Line, historically part of the Boston & Albany Railroad (B&A), was merged into the New York Central Railroad (NYC) and its ownership subsequently passed to PC in 1968. As part of the Massachusetts Turnpike Boston Extension's construction in the 1960s, the Worcester Line's roadbed between Route 128 and Boston was sold to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, with the provison that the control of the railroad remain with NYC. Conrail inherited the line which formed a vital freight artery between Boston's Beacon Yard and Conrail's Selkirk Yard. The Riverside-Framingham section was sold to the MBTA in 1976 as part of their larger acquisition of PC commuter assets, but the section past Framingham remained in Conrail control.[6] In September 2009, Conrail successor CSX Transportation and the Commonwealth finalized a $100,000,000 (equivalent to $119,171,708 in 2019) agreement to purchase CSX's Framingham to Worcester tracks, as well as the Grand Junction Railroad plus lines which will be part of the South Coast Rail project, to improve service on the Framingham/Worcester Line.[11] After several years of construction and negotiations, ownership of the line was transferred to the commonwealth on October 4, 2012, with increased service on the outer section of the line beginning several weeks later.[6][12]

The Penn Central combined the operations of the New Haven and the New York Central in 1968. Conrail succeeded them 1976, but would only operate the south-side lines until March 12, 1977.[13] B&M won the contract for the southside lines; for the first time, all Boston commuter service was operated by one entity. After bankruptcy, B&M continued to operate trains under the protection of the federal bankruptcy court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983.[6] GTI let the contract expire in 1987, after a bitter strike had shut down most of the northside lines in 1986.[6]

From 1987 to 2003, Amtrak managed all of Boston's commuter rail.[6] The relationship between MBTA and Amtrak was often rocky, and Amtrak did not submit a bid when the contract expired in 2003. MBTA observers saw Amtrak as having been a reliable manager and operator, but Amtrak sometimes experienced strained relations with the MBTA. Quibbles centered on equipment failures, crewing issues about the number of conductors per train, and responsibility for late trains. Because of these issues, and Amtrak's repeated statements that the MBTA contract was unreasonable, few were surprised at Amtrak's decision not to bid again.[14]

Two tenders were submitted, one from GTI and another from the newly formed Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR), a partnership between Connex (later Veolia), Bombardier Transportation and Alternate Concepts, Inc., the latter of which won the tender. MBCR took over the MBTA Commuter Rail operation from Amtrak in July 2003. The MBCR contract originally expired in July 2008 but had an additional five-year option; it was later extended three years to July 2011 and then another two to July 2013.[14][15] After concerns about on-time performance, the 2011 extension increased the fine for late trains from $100 to $300.[16]

Logo of Keolis Commuter Services, the current operator of MBTA Commuter Rail. This logo appears on employee uniforms and public timetables.

In August 2012, MBCR and Keolis were the two bidders for the contract. On January 8, 2014, the MBTA awarded Keolis the contract for $2.68 billion over eight years, with the possibility of two two-year extensions that could bring the total price to $4.3 billion.[17] Keolis took over the operations on July 1, 2014. Keolis lost $29.3 million in its first year of operation.[18] In June 2020, the MBTA extended the contract through at least 2025.[19] The final segment of the system to have Positive Train Control activated was the inner Worcester Line on August 15, 2020.[20]

Weekday service was substantially cut on March 17, 2020 due to reduced ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] On June 22, service was increased to 85% of normal weekday levels.[22] Changes effective November 2 reduced peak service and increased off-peak service, providing more consistent midday headways on some lines; Foxboro pilot service was suspended.[23]

Several significant improvements have been made during MBTA's period of stewardship which started circa 1973. However, the Commonwealth's support for rail operations began in the 1950s with contracted operations and subsidies to railroads providing commuter service, and more so in 1964 with the advent of MBTA.

• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts pioneered the concept of Park and Ride by providing funds to construct the Route 128 Station on NH's Providence Line, at a location where the radial line intersected with Massachusetts Route 128, the beltway encircling greater Boston. Route 128 Station was established 1953 by NH President Frederic C. Dumaine, Jr.. The initial station was simple in design, built as a parking lot located next to the tracks.[24]
• B&M's Eastern Route formerly operated across the bridge at Merrimack River and as far north as Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the former Eastern Railroad alignment. Service past Ipswich to Newburyport was limited to a single daily round trip after 1967, and suspended in April 1976.[6] Freight service to Newburyport lasted until 1984, and the line was formally abandoned in 1994 even as preparations began for restored service. After a brief period of abandonment, commuter rail service to Newburyport resumed on October 26, 1998, with an infill stop at Rowley.[25]
• As part of the Northeast Corridor Improvement Program II (NECIP II) of the 1990s, MBTA's Providence Line was electrified using federal funds provided to Amtrak for its Acela Express project. However, MBTA does not operate electric equipment on the Providence Line, as such equipment would be unusable on other lines.
• As Big Dig environmental mitigation, MBTA invested heavily in the Commuter Rail system by restoring large sections of the Old Colony division, which was abandoned in 1959. Service along the two main Old Colony Lines was reestablished in 1997, and the Greenbush Line opened in 2007.[6]
• After 1975, Framingham/Worcester Line service was cut back to Framingham, though other lines reached exurbs more distant from Boston than Framingham. As compensation for delays in the Old Colony Lines restoration, rush-hour service to Worcester Union Station was restored in 1994, with infill stations at Ashland, Southborough, Westborough, and Grafton stations were added in the MetroWest region between 2000 and 2002.[6] The service was successful, resulting in relative de-emphasis of Amtrak and commuter bus services operating in the same corridor.
• During the 1979-1987 reconstruction of the Southwest Corridor, Amtrak and MBTA trains were diverted over the Dorchester Branch, which had not seen passenger traffic since 1944. As part of this project, MBTA allowed Centralized Traffic Control to be installed on this branch, greatly increasing its signal capacity.[6] Regular service was kept on the Fairmount Line after 1987 because the relocated service was popular with residents of Dorchester and Roxbury. As Big Dig mitigation, MBTA rebuilt existing stations and is adding 4 new stations along the line.[26] The first of these, Talbot Avenue, opened on November 12, 2012, followed by Newmarket and Four Corners/Geneva on July 1, 2013.[27] Blue Hill Avenue station was opened on February 25, 2019, after many delays.
• Agreement with the state of Rhode Island allowed MBTA's Attleboro Line to extend to Providence, Rhode Island during the late 1980s. At first, only weekday service was provided. In the mid-2000s, a new agreement with RIDOT provided funding to allow the service to operate on weekends also. Service was extended further south to T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island in December 2010 and to Wickford Junction in North Kingston in April 2012.[28] This represents the first commuter service in Rhode Island south of Providence since 1981.[6]
• In 2013, the CapeFLYER service began running from South Station to Hyannis on summer weekends - the first direct service from Boston to Cape Cod since 1959. Though officially a Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority service, the CapeFLYER uses MBTA equipment.[6] Should this pilot service be successful, regular commuter service may be extended from Middleborough/Lakeville to Buzzards Bay.[29]
• A 4-mile extension of the Fitchburg Line to Wachusett station opened on September 30, 2016.[30]
• On November 14, 2013, MBTA began rehabilitating and rebuilding the tracks along 33 miles of right-of-way the agency acquired to restore service to Fall River and New Bedford (See South Coast Rail).

During the period of MBTA control, services have also been curtailed:

• Commuter rail services along the Millis Branch and Dedham Branch, by 1966 consisting of only a single daily rush-hour round trip, were discontinued by the NYNH&H on April 21, 1967 and have not been replaced.[6]
• All former B&M services that extended north of the Massachusetts border were curtailed by 1967, except for a brief period of experimental service from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981.[6] Since then, restoration and extension of the Lowell Line to Nashua, Manchester, and Concord, New Hampshire, and the Haverhill Line to Portland, Maine, have been repeatedly discussed. In 2001, Amtrak commenced operation of the Downeaster between Boston's North Station and Portland under the auspices of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority. The Nashua service discussion is continuing in the context of the widening of Interstate 93 in New Hampshire.
• The B&M operated one daily round trip to South Sudbury (19.7 mi (31.7 km) from Boston) over the former Central Massachusetts Railroad until its discontinuation on November 26, 1971.[6]
• Passenger service on the Lexington Branch ended on January 10, 1977.[6] The Northwest Extension of the MBTA Red Line replaced the service as far as Alewife in West Cambridge. No commuter rail service reaches the towns of Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford, Massachusetts. Today, the rail-banked line forms the Minuteman Bikeway and is a linear park in the vicinity of Davis Square, Somerville.
• The southern half of the Woburn Loop still operated when the MBTA took over control, joining the Lowell Line at Winchester. Half the Lowell Line services terminated at Woburn Heights (10.0 mi (16.1 km) from Boston), while the others stopped at North Woburn (today's Anderson RTC) and continued to Lowell. Weekend service ended on September 7, 1980, and all service on the branch stopped on January 30, 1981.[6]
• The Fitchburg Line under B&M operations terminated at Ayer, Massachusetts, but was subsequently extended as far as Gardner, Massachusetts in January 1981. However, the service between Gardner and Fitchburg was ended at the end of 1986 after the parallel Massachusetts Route 2 was upgraded to expressway standards, reducing travel time between these cities.[6]

As of June 2016, the MBTA owned 125 locomotives. Of these, 85 were in active passenger service, four used for work service, and 36 inactive for various reasons.[31] The current fleet of diesel locomotives comprises a mix of purpose-built passenger locomotives (such as the EMD F40PH) and freight locomotives rebuilt for passenger use (such as the GMD GP40MCs, which were originally GMD GP40-2LWs). All passenger locomotives are equipped with head end power (HEP), though some locomotives exclusively used for non-revenue work service are not.[31]

Year built[31]	Builder[31]	Model[31]	Numbers[31]	Notes[31]	Image
1973–1975	GMD	GMD GP40MC	1115–1139	Rebuilt by AMF in 1997.[31] Some to be rebuilt in Keolis in-house overhaul, others to be rebuilt in Rochester.
1987–1988	EMD	EMD F40PH-2C	1052–1053, 1055–1056, 1059, 1062, 1067, 1070–1072	Rebuilt by MPI 2001–2003. 1073 retired and scrapped after the 1990 Back Bay rail accident. All remaining units are being rebuilt by MPI as F40PH-3C class.[31]
1987–1988	MPI	MPI F40PH-3C	1025–1026, 1028, 1031–1032, 1035, 1050–1051, 1054, 1057-1058, 1060–1061, 1063–1066, 1068-1069, 1074-1075	Rebuilt from F40PH-2C and F40PHM-2C class locomotives by MPI.
1991–1993	M-K	M-K F40PHM-2C	1027, 1029–1030, 1033–1034, 1036	Rebuilt by MPI 2003–2004. All units are being rebuilt by MPI as F40PH-3C class.[31]
2009	MPI	MPI MP36PH-3C	010-011	Purchased from Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner.[31][32]
2013–2014	MPI	MPI HSP46	2000–2039	Purchased new from MotivePower. Ordered in 2010.[33]

#1800 arrives at Malden Center on the first revenue round trip of the new BTC-4D and CTC-5 coaches

As of June 2016, the MBTA owned 481 coaches. Of these, 420 were in active service and 61 inactive for various reasons.[31] Coaches whose designations start with BTC (Blind Trailer Coach) are conventional coaches, while those starting with CTC (Control Trailer Coach) are cab cars. Cab cars will occasionally also appear in the middle of a consist. Coaches acquired before 1990 were single-level cars with 88 to 127 seats; those since are bilevel cars with 173 to 185 seats.[31]

Various coaches are equipped with electronic doors for use on the Old Colony Lines and Greenbush Line, which have full-length high-level platforms at all stops. All BTC-3, CTC-3, BTC-4C, and BTC-4D coaches have restrooms.[31] Trains usually have one of these cars adjacent to the locomotive, as that car will be platformed at all high level platforms regardless of length, and thus handicapped riders will be able to access the restroom car.

During winter months, a Ski Train serving Wachusett Mountain runs on the Fitchburg Line, using a coach car which is equipped for carrying bicycles or skis.[31][34] During summer months, some Newburyport/Rockport Line trains to Rockport include one of two cars equipped to carry bicycles.[31][35] The CapeFLYER uses car 224, which has been modified as a cafe and baggage car.[31]

In January 2019, the MBTA issued a Request for Qualifications to design additional bilevel coach cars.[36] The agency approved a $279 million contract (total project cost of $345 million) for 80 additional Rotem bilevel coaches in September 2019, with delivery expected from September 2022 to June 2024. The MBTA plans an additional procurement of 100 bilevel cars, delivered from 2024 to 2027.[37]

Year built[31]	Builder[31]	Model[31]	Fleet ID[31]	Seats[31]	Notes[31]	Image
1978–79	Pullman	BTC-1C	200–258	114	The BTC-1C cars were rebuilt from BTC-1 and CTC-1 cars in 1995 and 1996, at which point they were renumbered; coaches 203 and 215 were not rebuilt and are no longer used. Coach 219 is a bike/ski car, 221 a bike car, 224 a cafe car, and 225 planned to be a bike car.[31]
1987	Bombardier	BTC-1A	350–389	127
1987–88	MBB	BTC-3	500–510, 512, 514–532	86	511 and 513 are retired. 501, 503, 505, 508, 509, 516, 517, 522, 526, 527, 528 and 532 are leased to Connecticut Department of Transportation for service on the Hartford Line.[31]
1987–88	MBB	CTC-3	1500–1515, 1517–1524, 1526–1533	96	1516 and 1525 are retired. 1505, 1509, 1518 and 1520 are leased to Connecticut Department of Transportation for service on the Hartford Line.
1989–90	Bombardier	BTC-1B	600–611, 613–653	122	612 is retired.
1989–90	Bombardier	CTC-1B	1600–1647, 1649–1652	122	1648 is retired. Cab controllers have been deactivated in coaches 1600–1624; they are used exclusively as blind coaches.[31]
1990–91	Kawasaki	BTC-4	700–749	185	700–749 have all completed overhaul by Alstom in Hornell, New York. They will have some features identical to the 800 series cars, including destination displays and LED lighting.
1990–91	Kawasaki	CTC-4	1700–1709, 1711–1724	175	1710 is retired. 1700–1709 and 1711–1724 have all been overhauled by Alstom
1997	Kawasaki	BTC-4A	750–766	182	750–766 are being overhauled by Alstom
2001	Kawasaki	BTC-4B	767–781	182	767–781 are being overhauled by Alstom
2005	Kawasaki	BTC-4C	900–932	178
2012–2014	Hyundai Rotem	BTC-4D	800–846	179
2012–2014	Hyundai Rotem	CTC-5	1800–1827	173

An EMD FP10 locomotive with rented GO Transit coaches at South Station in 1978

As the Commonwealth assumed the control of the Commuter Rail during the 1970s, it inherited various non-standard equipment from predecessor railroads. These included:

• Numerous Budd Rail Diesel Cars,[38] including a total of 86 from the B&M, New Haven Railroad and SEPTA. The RDC fleet was de-powered in the 1970s and turned into locomotive-hauled coaches by Morrison Knudsen.[38] These became known as "Boise Budds", after the location of the MK shop where the work was done. The RDC fleet was phased out during the 1980s and completely replaced with conventional coaches by 1989.[31] Remaining examples of these units now serve on the Grand Canyon Railway and Hobo Railroad; a derelict pair sit on a disused track near North Station, and a single unit has been restored and is displayed at Bedford Depot.
• In 1978–1980 MBTA acquired 19 rebuilt EMD FP10 units which were later transferred to Metro North Railroad in 1991–1993.[38] EMD GP-9s were also operated in Boston suburban service. MBTA #904, one of six GP-9s received from SEMTA in 1987, is retained as a work engine.[31]
• Ex–GO Transit stainless steel coaches were operated as an interim solution pending delivery of the CTC-1/BTC-1 order.
• From 2002 to 2004, MBTA leased some retired Amtrak F40PHs while the F40PHM-2Cs were getting rebuilt.
• Until 2015, MBTA operated standard F40PHs, numbered 1000-1017.

In November 2019, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board voted to back plans to further electrify the Commuter Rail system and increase service along key corridors. The resolution in which the board passed instructs the MBTA to prepare to launch a pilot service along the Fairmount line and a portion of the Newburyport/Rockport line where Commuter Rail service would be increased and fares reduced to that of a rapid transit ticket. Both of those lines, as well as the Providence/Stoughton line, are also to be electrified under the plan. The projected cost of such plans were not immediately clear at the time of the board's vote, but projections range from $10.6 billion to $28.9 billion, depending upon the results of the pilot program and future possible expansion.[58]

Foxboro station is proposed as the terminus of a Franklin Line branch

The South Coast Rail project is proposed to extend commuter rail service to the South Coast cities of Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford. After previous service was discontinued in 1958, the project surfaced in the 1980s. A full planning process was held from 1990 until its suspension in 2002. Planning restarted from the beginning in 2007; the Final Environmental Impact Statement was issued in August 2013. Several separately-funded projects, such as bridge reconstructions, have been undertaken, including major tie replacement (beginning in November 2013), and $2.3 billion was appropriated to the project in an April 2014 state bill.[59] However, full construction has been repeatedly delayed. Plans were changed in 2017 to have limited Phase 1 diesel service via the Middleborough/Lakeville Line in 2022, with full electric service via Stoughton in 2030. The modified plan, which is expected to cost $3.42 billion, proved immediately controversial.[60]

A Providence Line extension to Wickford Junction, in North Kingstown, Rhode Island opened on April 23, 2012. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is also studying the feasibility of serving existing Amtrak stations in Kingston and Westerly as well as constructing new stations in Cranston, East Greenwich, and West Davisville. Federal funding has also been provided for preliminary planning of a new station in Pawtucket.[61]

There is also a proposal to extend the Middleborough/Lakeville Line to Wareham and eventually to Buzzards Bay. The CapeFLYER started service along this section to Hyannis on summer weekends in 2013.

In September 2013, the state announced plans to run diesel multiple unit (DMU) service between Back Bay and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on Track 61 beginning in 2015.[62] In 2014, the MBTA announce it would purchase DMU self-propelled rail cars for the Fairmount Line with eventual expansion to five other lines, including Track 61, to be known as the Indigo Line. The planned DMU procurement was canceled in 2015.[63] A new West Station, is planned to be built on the Framingham-Worcester line in the Beacon Park Yard site, where it may also connect to North Station via the Grand Junction Railroad.[64]

There is a proposal to build a South Salem station in Salem, Massachusetts, to improve access to Salem State University, as well as to extend Commuter Rail to Peabody, Massachusetts and Danvers, Massachusetts.[65]

The former state Secretary of Transportation James Aloisi indicated in 2009 support for commuter service from Worcester to North Station via Clinton and Ayer, presumably along the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad right of way, owned by Pan Am Railways as of 2009.[66]

In 2007 the state of New Hampshire created the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority and allocated money to build platforms at Nashua and Manchester.[67]

A 2008 article in the Eagle Tribune claimed that Massachusetts is negotiating to buy property which has the potential to extend the Haverhill Line to Plaistow, New Hampshire. Funding is available, and Plaistow is potentially interested, but wants to better understand the potential drawbacks of being the location of the layover station.[68][69]

No direct connection exists between the two downtown commuter rail terminals; to travel from one station to the other, passengers must use the MBTA subway or bus lines to make the connection. A North–South Rail Link has been proposed to unite the two halves of the commuter rail system. For non-revenue transfers of equipment, the MBTA and Amtrak use the Grand Junction Branch.